The Perfect Candidate
by MissLe
Summary: So when a girl's down on her luck, forced to live with her cousin and his frustratingly meddlesome wife and facing a divorce with her husband, what's she to do? Enter a contest to win the love of the world's biggest heart throb, of course. SasuHina.
1. Divorce

**Chapter 1**

She stepped out of the grand building and out into the rain, her long indigo hair and gorgeous red satin gown clinging to her body as she called up a taxi.

"Where to miss?" The driver asked, turning around in an awkward position so he could see the passenger.

"632 Howe avenue, please." The driver gave a nod and a grunt before speeding down the slick road, splashing water in every direction. The passenger put her arm on the armrest and stared out the rain splattered window with her head cupped in her hand. How many times had she reserved the front seat for him? And how many times had he stood her up? Too many.

"Here you go miss." The driver motioned to the large townhouse that stood before them. She gave a grateful nod and handed the man a twenty dollar bill, "Keep the change." The driver gave a large grin and a shrug of the shoulders before once again speeding off down the road, soaking the young woman even more thoroughly. She sighed took a small key out of her purse, maybe he didn't forget, maybe he was getting her flowers and--

"NO! LET ME SEE THAT! CHEATER!!"

Or not. She walked into the foyer and threw her purse on the nearest chair, cursing her faith in the man she loved.

"Huh? Who's that?" A blond head stuck out from the doorway that led to the kitchen. Suddenly a huge grin spread across the boyish features of his face, "Hinata!" He ran over and wrapped his arms around her and led her to the kitchen where a poker game seemed to be taking place. "Guys, say hi!"

The men at the table looked up and gave grins and waves to Hinata who was standing in the hyper blonde's embrace. "Hey! Hinata! How's it going?" Hinata gave a weak grin to the young men who all were sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen, surrounded by poker chips and cards (Except for Choji who was surrounded by bags of chips) then promptly pushed the blond off of her and stormed out of the kitchen to the bedroom where she dropped herself onto the plush king sized bed.

"Hinata? Honey? What's wrong?" The blond popped up again, concern emanating from his cerulean blue eyes.

"Go away, Naruto." came the muffled demand from Hinata, who had her head buried in a pillow. Naruto frowned, then walked over and started stroking her indigo hair that was starting to frizz. "Come on Hinata, tell me, what's wrong?"

Hinata surprised him by shooting her head up from the pillow and staring him down with pale, angry lavender eyes, "What's wrong? You don't know? Think! What was tonight supposed to be?"

Naruto gave her a confused look, then stared at her nearly ruined satin dress, a look of realization dawning on his paling face, "Oh shit."

That was the last straw, all the unshed tears that she had been holding back suddenly burst out, "'Oh shit.' That's all you have to say? This isn't the first time you've forgotten about my recitals either!" she sobbed, flinging the pillow at his chest, "Every time, I reserve you a spot right at the front, and every time, you never show!" By now she was flinging every object that she could lay her hands on at poor Naruto who had a look of horror on his face.

"B-but you already play piano so well at home, I-I like the songs that you play at home more because, because it seems so much more intimate." Naruto tried to tell her soothingly, but ended up sounding just plain pitiful.

Hinata ceased her firing and asked, "Okay then, name one song that I've played." Naruto gave her a questioning look before stuttering, "Uh…uhm…er…Y-Yankee Doodle?"

Hinata's eyes narrowed and she hissed at him, "Wrong. I've never, ever, _ever_ played that song." Her eyes started to stream with tears again, "God. Why couldn't you be there just this time? I told you that the talent scout would be there, to see if I could have broken off from the orchestra to go solo." With that last regretful statement, she burst past a stunned Naruto and out of the bedroom, trying to avoid tripping over Gaara, Shino, Choji, Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, who had their ears pressed to the door, eavesdropping on Naruto and Hinata's conversation.

Naruto came out of the room looking frazzled and disbelieving, "What just happened? She wasn't ever like this before." Kiba gave Naruto a dirty look, "That's because she's been holding it in for so long you idiot!" Kiba grabbed Shino's wrist and began dragging him in the direction that Hinata had left "Let's go find her."

"W-wait! Maybe I should go." Everybody turned to stare at Naruto who had finally recovered from the initial shock of his wife's outburst.

"Wow. You're even more stupid than I thought Naruto." Kiba snarled at him, how dare his best friend hurt poor Hinata like that? The only girl in the world he thought more of as a little sister than anything else.

"He's right. You're the one who brought this on her, I doubt it would be a good idea to speak with her." Everyone turned to Gaara who had been leaning against the wall and had not said a word until now.

"But I just wanna apologize!" Naruto shouted, man, was he ever upset, not only did his wife turn totally psycho on him, but now his friends were blaming him for it too.

"Look, I know Hinata has been tolerant in the past, but I doubt this time she'll forgive you." With that, Kiba ran out of the room dragging Shino along with Akamaru who was following behind barking madly.

By now, Kiba and Shino had run outside the townhouse and were now shouting Hinata's name into the empty streets, thoroughly soaking themselves. Well, mostly Kiba, Shino was under the shelter of a large tree examining some footprints.

"She went that way." Shino pointed to across the street where a large playground stood. Kiba jumped up and ran to the playground searching and still yelling himself hoarse. Finally he grabbed Akamaru and asked, "Where is she, buddy?"

Akamaru sniffed the air and leaped out of Kiba's arms to the structure where the slide was and disappeared underneath it. Shino and Kiba quickly followed suit and found Hinata curled up in a corner sobbing into her arms with Akamaru whining and trying to rub up against her, much like a cat.

"Hinata,?Kiba whispered in what he hoped to be a soothing voice. Hinata peeked out from her arms, hastily tried rubbing away her tears and gave a huge fake smile, "H-hey guys."

Kiba frowned, "Hinata, it's okay to be upset, Naruto was a jerk to do what he did." Hinata gave a appreciative smile but shook her head, "No, I've cried to much as it is, it just hurts, you know?" Kiba gave a small nod, he did know. Before, he had always liked Hinata, his childhood friend, but never had the courage to confess to her, then one day Naruto had professed his love to her and she immediately took up his offer. Kiba felt bitter to his best friend, Naruto, but soon found his feelings for Hinata were more of protection and friendship than love.

"I-I think I still love him, I always will, but I don't want to be hurt anymore." Hinata stared down at the ground under her in misery. Suddenly she asked, Shino, you're a lawyer, right?"

Kiba twisted his head to look at the enigmatic man that was crouched behind them, he forgot that he was here. Shino perked an eyebrow and nodded, "Yes."

"Good. Because I-I want a divorce."

Kiba and Shino gaped (Well, you couldn't really tell for Shino because of his high collar) at Hinata who was fiddling with her long hair, attempting to smooth it and prevent it from frizzing again. Shino was the first one that recovered, Are you sure you want that? You could just, I don't know, take a break."

Hinata shook her head sorrowfully, "I-I'm certain, we've tried taking breaks before, and-and he always seems to hurt me each time I come back.?

"Fine. But it'll take a few weeks to get everything all filed out."

Kiba whipped around, earning him a large bump on the head and growled, "What? You're gonna just let her divorce him?" Shino's eyes narrowed from underneath his ever present sunglasses, "What? You want her to keep hurting like this? It's obvious she's made up her mind anyways."

Hinata almost started crying again, this meant so much to her that Shino and Kiba cared for her so much. Shino was always so solemn, but seeing him be so caring towards her, really touched her.

"Th-thanks guys." She whispered softly, looked up at them with her pale eyes and wrapped her arms around them, pulling them into a tight hug. You don't know how much I appreciate this."

Kiba grinned and also wrapped his arms around her, "Oh, no problem. But, just out of curiosity, where're you gonna stay? Do you need to stay with one of us?" Hinata unlatched herself from them and shook her head, "No, Tenten owes me a favour anyways, I'm sure she'll be willing to let me stay with her and Neji for a while."

Kiba beamed and patted her head, "That a girl, go show Naruto that you're stronger than that." Hinata grinned up at the two men that crouched before her, what would she do without them?

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"Here, stop here." Hinata pointed at the majestic mansion that was at least ten times the size of her own large townhouse. Kiba leaned across her and gazed out of her window, whistling lowly, "Geez, did you have to give up the job as Hyuuga heiress? We totally could have played poker in one of the million games rooms."

Hinata gave out a light laugh, "Nah, Neji's doing a much better job as leader of the company than I ever could've been." She unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped of the black Mercedes and turned back to him, "Thanks, tell Shino I said so too." Kiba gave her a salute then sped off at an amazingly rapid speed. Hinata shook her head, he never learned, every time he got a car he sped at frighteningly fast speeds and occasionally crashed it, never earning a single scratch himself.

She walked up to the iron gate that stood before them and pressed the intercom button, "Hey, Katsuya! It's me." She grinned up at the security camera.

"Who? Hinata! I haven't seen your pretty face around here for a while!" A fuzzy voice crackled over the intercom, "It's great seeing you! I haven't talked to a friendly face for the longest time."

Hinata cocked her head to the side, "What? Didn't Tenten always come visit you and bring you food?"

"Hah! I wish! She's gotten all cranky now that she's pregnant."

Hinata gasped, "Pregnant?" When did this happen? And why wasn't she told?

"Oh! Um…you weren't supposed to hear that! Oh crap! She's gonna kill me!" Katsuya cried pitifully over the intercom, "Don't tell her I said that, okay?"

Hinata laughed and nodded, "Alright, alright, just let me in." The gate opened to the long lane that led all the way to the front of the manor.

"By the way, why are you here so late anyways? You look terrible. Ah! I-I mean, uh, y-you look like you've been beat up or something! I have a bunch of buddies that could go beat up those thugs pounded you or something!" Katsuya's voice crackled one last time through the intercom before Hinata started walking down the narrow road and waved behind her to the security camera muttering to herself under her breath, "I wish, I wish."

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After the long walk from the gate to the end of the driveway that took approximately three minutes, Hinata took out the key that was hidden in the garden under a large stone that was concealed by a rosy cheeked garden gnome and unlocked the door to let herself in. The moment she took a step in she inhaled the deep scent of…tradition.

The marble floor was the same original one from the previous owners, the large staircase had the same beautifully carved railing that had been in the house one hundred years before (at least according to the slimy realtor that sold the house to them). She looked over to her left where a large tapestry that held a single intricately designed bird held within a large cage. Hinata smiled, Neji hated the main and the cadet branch, yet he still held onto his grandfather's tapestry probably for sentimental values and tradition.

Suddenly Hinata heard a tiny creak and ducked on reflex, just in time to dodge the golf club that came swinging just inches above her head.

"Take that thief!" The angry voice of a young woman who had less than three hours of sleep sounded through Hinata's ears.

"Tenten?" The young woman gave Hinata a startled look before dropping her "weapon" and running over to give the other startled young woman a hug.

"Hinata!" Tenten removed herself from Hinata and placed her hands firmly on Hinata's shoulders and gasped, "What happened to you! You look like you've been to hell and back!"

Hinata gave her a rueful smile and said, "I guess you could say that." And with that, the whole story came spilling out with a new flood of tears, Tenten patting her on the back and whispering comforting words to the poor distraught woman. Hinata wrapped her arms around her around Tenten and sobbed even harder, somehow, crying to a fellow female made things feel slightly better.

"Let go of my wife, you lecher." A sharp point was felt at the back of Hinata's neck as she still clutched tightly to Tenten.

A smile crept onto her face as she said, "Calm down Neji, I'm not molesting your wife." The sharp point at her neck dropped to the marble floor with a clatter.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji eyes widened in shock, turning to Hinata he placed his hands on her shoulders in a tight grip, "What are you doing here so late? And why are you dressed like you just came from--mmph!" Tenten had clamped her hand down on her husband's mouth and dragged him into the living room opposite of the foyer, slamming the sliding glass door shut. Hinata could only see Neji's back, but could see Tenten well enough to see her hissing angrily at her life-long companion.

A minute later, Neji burst through the glass doors, murder in his eyes, "Where is he? That bastard, how dare he do that? I'll kill him. No. I'll burn him and his stupid orange track suits and then I'll kill hi---" Neji seethed angrily, venting his anger on a poor fern in the corner, but was silenced by Hinata's small hand on his shoulder.

"Neji, I appreciate you concern, really, I do, but I think your taking it a bit far." She gave an earnest smile then sighed, "You and Kiba really have to find different ways to vent your anger, you guys are way too violent."

Neji gave a reluctant sigh and walked over to his wife to place his arm around her shoulder, Is there any way we can help?"

"Well, I was hoping you might be able to let me stay here. Just for a while though! Just until I get a place of my own." Hinata mumbled while staring at her suddenly fascinating nails.

"Of course, stay as long as you want, I miss the company of another woman." Tenten grinned, and took Hinata's hand, "Come on, which guest bedroom would you like?"

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**Hehe…made the main character the "bad guy", always wanted to do that. But anyways, hope you like it.**

**Ciao!**

**MissLe**


	2. Fair

**Wow! I'm so impressed with all the feedback I got on just this chapter, my other story only got two reviews and it has SIX chapters. Tell me, do you guys have something against SasukeXOC? Well, whatever, thanks for the reviews!**

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**Chapter 2**

Hinata groaned and rolled over to her side to avoid having the sun that was shining through the slits in the curtains stream into her eyes. Suddenly she bolted upright, she didn't have curtains, where was she? She first left the theatre, then got home, then fought with Naruto--

Naruto.

Hinata fell back into her warm pillow, what drove her to do that? Why did she break up with Naruto? Maybe because for some reason, even though she had a huge hole in her heart, she didn't feel like she needed to impress him or feel jealous over him anymore? Maybe because she finally felt free?

She groaned again, she shouldn't have let Tenten convince her into drinking all those midnight margaritas. So finally she crawled out of bed and into the washroom to have a nice, refreshing shower. She turned on the shower radio, stripped off Tenten's pyjamas, turned on the shower nozzle and stepped into the hot shower, letting the hot, wet drops soak and cleanse the dirt and grime off her body.

"--news is that heartthrob, Sasuke Uchiha, is on the prowl again. Yes, that's right ladies, he is free for the taking! He has even started his own TV show coming up to find the perfect wife for him called, 'Wife Search', so if you consider yourself the perfect candidate, visit the Uchiha's website, But seriously, who needs this young heir dubbed 'the ice prince' when you've got me ladies?…" The DJ laughed at his own joke and talked more mindless gossip before Hinata turned the radio off and stepped out of the shower.

Several minutes later, she emerged from the room clad in a fuzzy pink robe looking for the room that Tenten slept in. Finally, she found the door that led to Tenten and opened it, only to find Tenten under Neji clutching him tightly to her, moaning in pleasure. Hinata inhaled sharply, then ran out of the room back to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her, blushing a darker shade of red with every step that she took.

A few seconds later Tenten' opened the door a crack and peered inside to see Hinata curled up into a ball underneath her covers "Hinata? I--"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to! Forgive me! I just wanted a change of clothes! I didn't mean to pry! Oh god, maybe I shouldn't stay here if I'm such a bother, I'm sorry! I-" Hinata cried from underneath the heavy comforter. Tenten ripped the blanket off the other young woman and sat down beside her.

"Listen to me." Tenten pushed Hinata's shoulder so that she was forced to look at her, "Don't be sorry, we asked you to stay with us, remember? We totally forgot you were staying here, so it's our fault, we're sorry." Hinata slowly got up, but her blush never faded from her cheeks.

"So, um, what was that? I'm not trying to pry!" Hinata raised her hands defensively and would have continued forever if Tenten didn't flick her nose.

"Well, er…Neji and I, we want to start a family." Hinata gasped at Tenten's statement, and before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "But I thought you were already pregnant!"

Hinata quickly slapped her hands to her mouth and Tenten gave her a suspicious look, "How did you know? I haven't told anyone except--" Tenten's face hardened, "Katsuya."

"Don't get mad at him, please?" Hinata waved her hands around as if that would help protect the poor security guard, "He means well, he even misses your little visits to him!"

Tenten tried to portray her angry, suspicious look, but just ended up bursting out laughing, "Oh, Hinata, you're so kind, too kind for your own good I think." Tenten grinned then asked, "How about we set you up with Katsuya?" Hinata's emotions changed drastically from a grin to a grimace.

Tenten started panicking, "Uh, um, I-I'll go get you some clothes, then we can go have some fatty, greasy breakfast? Okay!" She ran out of the room and returned several seconds later with a beautiful black and white blouse and a pair of tight fitting jeans, then ran out once more to let Hinata have some room and to change.

Hinata sighed and slowly removed her robe, was it really only last night she broke up with him? It seemed like centuries. She brought the blouse over her head and slipped the jeans on, her eyes watching the gorgeous morning from behind the window the whole time. She didn't even notice how the blouse brought every curve in her and how it contrasted with her eyes and hair, bringing out every highlight.

Walking down the stairs with her hand gliding across the smooth, polished rail, she yawned, what time was it?

"Wow! The blouse looks way better on you than it ever did, or will, on me!" Tenten came up and twirled Hinata around to get a better view of her, "Why do you always wear such loose fitting clothes? You have a great body, so flaunt it!"

Hinata blushed, "I-I feel uncomfortable about it." The last time she had worn something tight was when she wore a kimono to her mother's wedding after she had divorced her father, and she had gotten teased by another kid for having such a flat chest. For the first time, Hinata realized the blouse had a semi-deep cut cleavage, she automatically raised her arms to her chest to cover herself.

Tenten sighed and grabbed Hinata's wrist away from her chest, "What did I tell you? Flaunt it." Then with her wrist still in her hand, she led Hinata to the kitchen and requested to the chef for the greasiest, biggest, most delicious breakfast ever served. Finally, they made their trip to the small dining room and sat down at the round kitchen table.

Lazily, Hinata glanced up at the clock that hung from the wall behind Tenten, her eyes widened and as she asked Tenten, her light mauve eyes giving her a panicked stare, "What day is it?"

"Huh? Uh…Thursday I think. Why?" Tenten gave a nod of appreciation to the maid that set down the large plate in front of her before grabbing her fork and wolfing the eggs, waffles, bacon, sausage links, hash browns and pancakes down.

Hinata stood up so suddenly from her chair that Tenten almost splattered the syrup over herself too, "No! I'm so late! Gaara's gonna kill me!" She looked around the kitchen for an exit out of the house, which would be nearly impossible from the room that she was in, considering it was smack dab in the middle of the whole estate.

"Calm down, Neji already phoned the office, Gaara's fine with it, he didn't expect you to be there after last night anyways." Hinata sunk back down into her seat, God bless Gaara's little heart, he was so much kinder than he let on to be, he could be such a sweetie, he had even let Hinata and Naruto use his private jet just so that they could go down to St. Bart's for their honeymoon. Well, considering how he was the president of the fanciest restaurant in the world, several branches had also spread the around the world too, this guy could be almost as rich as freaking Bill Gates.

Hinata idly poked at her enormous plate of food, only nibbling at the corner of a sausage link now and then. Tenten raised her eyebrow, "Don't like the food? 'Cause I can ask the chef to get you an English muffin or something."

"No!" Hinata swallowed a huge forkful of egg into her mouth just to prove her point, "It's just, I--I'm not hungry since last night."

Tenten put down her fork and stared levelly at Hinata, "Hinata, repeat after me, 'I am a gorgeous woman.'"

Hinata stared back quizzically, but repeated nonetheless, "…I am a gorgeous woman?"

Tenten nodded, "If I had the need or want, I could rule the world." Hinata obediently repeated once again.

"I am also strong."

"I am also…strong?"

"So strong, in fact, I could kick my sorry ex-husband's ass any day of the week."

"So strong…" she burst into a small fit of giggles, "…in fact I c-could" more laughter, "kick my s-sorry ex-husband's a-ass any day o-of the week."

Tenten grinned, "See? Now don't you feel much better?" Hinata's laugh was a good enough response. She hated watching her friends in pain like that, especially a friend as close as Hinata, who had always been there for her in her time of need.

"Hey, let's go to the fair that's in town this week." Tenten asked with her mouth full, excitement dancing through her eyes, "I haven't been to one since grade school! It would be a great way to get your mind off of you-know-who."

Hinata smiled, "Actually, I'd like that, it sounds like fun."

Tenten gave a childish squeal and jumped out of her chair to go find Neji, "I'm going to tell Neji, maybe he wants to come with us!" She ran out of the room, her meal completely forgotten.

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Neji stopped at the front gate, "I'll go park the car, I'll find you later." Tenten hopped out of the car, waved goodbye to her husband and dragged Hinata out of the car to the ticket booth.

"A-are you sure I had to wear this?" Hinata looked down at her arms that covered her blouse. Tenten rolled her eyes and ignored her, it wasn't the first time Hinata asked her that either.

"Let's go, you're ruining the mood. It's a beautiful, gorgeous day, we're at the fair, what can go wrong?" Tenten asked Hinata as she gave her money to the portly lady at the booth with the mole under her lip and entered through the green gates with Hinata cautiously following at her side.

The crowd was almost overwhelming, people were crowded everywhere, the lines were absurdly long and the air reeked of puke from the passengers of the roller coasters.

"I-I'm going to…" Hinata looked around and found a small clearing up ahead, "…that way" she pointed.

"But I want to go on the roller coaster!" Tenten pouted and pointed to the rickety wooden roller coaster, to which Hinata paled at and turned a sickly green.

"How about you phone me after you finish, and I'll come find you, okay?" Hinata rushed off, not even waiting for her reply.

After Hinata was a fair way off and in the semi secluded corner, she stopped walking so fast and strolled around, checking out her surroundings. There was a small henna parlour, a peanut stand, a cotton candy stand, the cotton candy's aroma beckoned her to the stand, so she followed the scent, right into the man standing in front of her in the line.

"Ow!" The man whorled around, his eyes widening in shock, "Hinata?"

Hinata's eyes also widened, not in shock like his, but in horror, "N-Naruto?" She whispered hoarsely, she wanted away, anywhere but there standing in front of her ex-husband. She tried running in the opposite direction, but his strong hand gripped her wrist.

"Hinata, please. Let me explain!" Hinata shook her head forcefully and pushed him away from her, dashing off down the small dirt path, tears streaming down her face. She tried forgetting last night, she really did, but seeing him again hurt her ten times over again.

She ran and ran, not knowing where she was going, or how long she was running for. Finally she stopped running when she ran into another back, again, this time toppling over the poor stranger.

"Ugh." The man underneath Hinata groaned and quickly adjusted his ridiculously large aviator glasses and hat before barking angrily at her, "Watch where you're going!"

Hinata bowed her head, "I-I'm sorry." her tears dripping down onto the strange man's chest.

His eyebrows rose way up, "Whoa, why are you crying? Did you actually hit me that hard?"

Hinata shook her head, trying to wipe away the tears with the cuff of her sleeve, "I-it's not your fault." She tried to get up from him, but only ended up slipping on the bag that he was carrying and landed flat on him, so close to him that she could feel his warm breath blowing on her face. She stared down into his face and could just barely see his jet black eyes that held an expression of worry, anger, and sympathy.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked while wiping away a stray tear that had fallen onto his face, his breath blowing softly onto her lips.

Hinata's mouth opened to answer, but suddenly a hand roughly jerked her off of him. Hinata turned around to see the infuriated face of her cousin, Neji.

"Hinata-sama! Are you okay?" He brushed the dirt off of her shoulders before continuing in what Neji hoped was a "calm" voice, "I promise I'll find Shino and sue the pants off of that-that, pervert." He hissed at the poor man who had gracefully risen from the ground and was now glaring daggers at Neji.

"Well, if you were paying any attention at all, you would notice that she was the one that bumped into me and not to mention fell on top of me. So really, I should be suing her." He said in an icy, cold voice, then walked up to him and jabbed him in the chest, "And what are you her father or something? I'm sure she can look out for herself."

Neji's eyes held an overwhelming amount of fury and probably would have punched the other man had Hinata's phone not of rung.

"Uh, um, let's go! It's probably Tenten back from her ride." Hinata clasped Neji's arm and dragged him back the way they came, leaving the stranger staring back after them.

Once they were a fair distance away, Hinata flipped open her phone and redialled Tenten. A few rings later, Tenten picked up, "Hello?"

"It's me, Hinata. Where are you?" Hinata asked, dropping Neji's arm.

"I'm over at the games booths. Why didn't you pick up the phone? Have you found Neji yet? I tried phoning him right before I phoned you."

"Yeah, I found him. I didn't pick up because, uh, we had a little misunderstanding with some other man." Hinata said uneasily, remembering the little fiasco that had happened before hand, "We'll meet you there in three minutes, bye."

"Bye." Hinata pressed the 'end' button on her cell phone, closed it, then beckoned Neji to follow her.

"She's over at the games booths. Now stop dragging your feet, I promised her we'd be there in three minutes." She called back to Neji who was slowly sauntering along, still clearly displeased about the previous events.

True to her word, Hinata arrived at the games booths three minutes later and looked around for the familiar hand that waved up in the air summoning the two relatives to her.

"Hey! Neji, will you win me that bear?" Tenten asked pleadingly as she pointed at the large black and white panda bear that sat up at the very top shelf, untouched by the rest of the hoops that surrounded the other stuffed animals.

"Can you not win it yourself?" Neji asked in a semi-annoyed tone, she was after all nicknamed "The weapon mistress" in high school, why shouldn't she have perfect aim as it was?

"But I want one from you…" She pouted, giving Neji the cutest puppy dog eyes she could muster. Neji's mouth quirked up in the faintest of smiles, it was nice to be wanted.

"How about we both win it?" He bent over Tenten and placed his hands on hers, directing the path of the hoop onto the panda bear. Tenten gave a whoop of delight and turned around to give Neji a firm kiss on the lips. Hinata sighed, she remembered the times she had with Naruto, none of them seemed as perfect as this one. Naruto had always been the gorgeous outgoing one, and Hinata the shy, awkward, gawky one. Everyone thought that they completed each other, but really, all she felt like was the costume designer of a huge movie and Naruto was the star actor, the costume designer made the play look good, but the actors got all the credit.

"Oh? Neji! That is you! You are looking as youthful and spirited as you were nine years ago!" A loud man with a bowl cut wearing a tight green shirt and… were those green spandex shorts?

Neji twirled around from his embrace and groaned, "…Lee."

Tenten jumped out of Neji's hold and yelled loudly, "Lee! I haven't seen you in ages, where've you been? Still the president of your own fitness club I see." She said quickly glancing at his impressive muscles, then remembered her own husbands equally impressive ones and jumped back into Neji's arms, rubbing her head against his chest.

"Ah! Tenten! Still the beautiful flower you were in high school I see." Lee said enthusiastically shaking her hands up and down, Neji growled at him and pulled her away from him, "And who is this lovely young blossom?" He asked, turning from the couple to poor Hinata who was retrieving the panda bear wondering, _Who is _this_ freak?_

"That, is none other than Hinata herself." Tenten said proudly as if introducing her talented daughter to another gawking, jealous parent.

Lee gasped, "Hinata? You have transformed so beautifully! I remember you when you used to trail Neji around because you had no friends--!" He was cut off by two sharp blows to his disturbing bowl cut. Both Tenten and Neji had punched him in the head, anger and protectiveness glaring back at Lee, not fazing him in the least.

Hinata smiled uncomfortably, high school had been several years of torture, but she learned to forgive and forget. "Ah yes, Lee. I suddenly remember you too, you were the boy who also trailed around Neji in attempt to score a few girls, but with no avail." Tenten and Neji burst out laughing as Lee cowed slightly.

"Yes, I was a late bloomer. But you have become quite the vision yourself!" he cried out, trying to change the subject, then he turned back on Neji, "So Neji, the years have treated you wonderfully, Master Gai would have been so proud." He wiped a nonexistent tear from his cheek.

Tenten whispered to Hinata, "Let them catch up on old times while we go have some fun!" She dragged Hinata off in the direction of the main attractions and waved goodbye to her husband as he tried escaping from Lee's suffocating embrace.

They walked along the path that turned and twisted to new, more horrifying rides, Hinata trying to ignore them, and Tenten gazing at them almost lovingly. Finally, they reached a single stand where many young women were surrounding it and several large posters were put up displaying an unbelievably handsome young man who had a gentle, small smile playing his pink lips.

Hinata stopped and stared at the poster, this seemed so familiar, why? Then she suddenly remembered her shower this morning and snapped her fingers, the contest, right. The contest to win the young Uchiha heir's heart. If she remembered all of this, then why did something still gnaw silently at the back of her mind as if there were another reason that she recognised this poster?

"What's that?" Tenten appeared behind Hinata and peered from behind her shoulder, "You're a genius! We should enter you for this contest! It would definitely get your mind off ole what's-his-face." Hinata gave a small laugh, "No, no, no." Tenten gave a pout and Hinata sighed, "Tenten, you're my best friend, you know that right? But why must you keep meddling in my love life, or at least what's left of it?"

"Because Hinata, you're my best friend, and I know that you will take forever to move on if I don't even try to nudge you in the right direction. I just don't want you to miss the right guy in your moping." Tenten said snatching up one of the pieces of paper that were lying in stacks on the table and started reading, her eyebrows raising in interest. After she finished reading she grabbed a pen and wrote several words onto the paper, then crumpled it up so it fitted into her back pocket.

"What's that?" Hinata asked suspiciously, trying to grab it out of Tenten's back pocket.

"A contract and draw ticket you need in order to win the chance to get into the TV show contest." Tenten responded simply.

"I told you that I don't want to enter it!" Hinata cried out in exasperation, best friends could be so troublesome.

"Who said it was for you?" Tenten took the paper out of her pocket and showed it to her, "It's for Katsuya, see? K-A-T-S-U-Y-A." She snickered, "You said he was lonely."

Hinata laughed and began walking down the path away from the booth, unaware of the separate piece of paper that dwelled deep in Tenten's other pocket.

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**Okay, if this didn't make sense, I blame it on the fact that I was disgustingly, snottily, headache-ly, fever-ly SICK when I wrote most of this.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	3. Drunk

**Chapter 3**

Tenten took another sip of her beer and glanced over at Hinata in amusement. She was now spilling her beer and life story to a random, also incredibly drunk stranger. After they decided that they had enough time at the fair, she had convinced Neji to let Hinata and her have some 'quality girl time' in the bar together, and it turned out that Hinata couldn't stop herself from having drink after drink after she had started her first one, nor could she handle her liquor.

Tenten shrugged, she would take Hinata home when they got tired of drinking, or when Hinata started puking, whichever came first.

"…And that's when I dumped his sorry ass!" Hinata slammed her liquor onto the table and looked around blearily at the stranger in front of her, trying to determine if they were friend or foe. She didn't get much of an answer, the random stranger just slumped more into his chair and in a slurred voice asked the bartender for another round.

Fed up with no one listening, she asked the bartender for a can of beer, to which the busty bartender shook her head, "Sorry, but you're wasted enough as it is, anymore and you'll start destroying the place." She walked away and filled up another customer's drink with a smile.

Hinata shook with fury and clumsily climbed up onto the table, startling Tenten, and yelled out to the bartender, "Hey you!" When the bartender turned around Hinata continued her ramblings, "Why can't I have another drink? I'm a paying customer here too!"

"I knew this would happen, " The bartender shook her perfect auburn head, "Listen, come down from there, you're drunk!"

"I'm not drunk! I've only had…had," Hinata paused and attempted counting on her fingers, "a few drinks!" she stammered finally.

"Hey, Hinata, if you come down here and sign this, the nice lady will give us more drinks." Tenten waved a piece of paper over her head and Hinata squealed in delight. She unstably (but safely) clambered off the table and snatched a pen from the table next to them and carefully began signing in tall, loopy letters.

"There!" Tenten took the paper from Hinata and tucked it away in her pocket, "Now can I have a beer?"

"I was kidding Hinata." Tenten resumed her drinking in a bored manner.

Hinata's mouth opened to yell some profanity when she suddenly slapped a hand to her mouth, "Tenten, I don't feel so good." she said weakly, leaning against Tenten.

"Okay, let's go." She carefully gathered Hinata in her arms and led her to the washrooms, where she gently sat Hinata in front of the toilets and let her puke up all the liquor. After what seemed like forever of holding up Hinata's hair and patting her softly on the back, whispering comforting words, Hinata finally retracted her head from the toilet bowl.

"I-I saw him today you know. At the fair." Hinata murmured to the toilet, drowsily glancing up at Tenten, "It hurts seeing him, I want to forget him, but I can't."

Tenten scrunched her eyebrows together, "Naruto? He was at the fair?"

Hinata nodded sleepily and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve, "Yeah, he was there." She curled up next to Tenten and whispered weakly once more before drifting to sleep, "I don't want to see him, I don't want to remember the good times we had together. I want to be free."

Tenten sighed, slung Hinata's arm around her shoulder, picked her up with the monster strength she was infamous for in high school, and called up a taxi to bring them home.

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"--No more!"

"I'm sorry!"

"How many times have you said that?!"

Hinata's eyes opened groggily and she buried her head under the pillow in order to drown out the pounding in her head and the screaming coming from outside her bedroom door.

"Is she that important to you? Is she more important that me?" Hinata could still hear the sobbing and screaming, "You don't get this upset when I come home drunk as hell." the voices were slowly getting more quiet.

"I--no! I-it's just that I know that you can take care of yourself, you're strong."

"Neji, I-I'm, pregnant." Tenten's voice sounded muffled, but slightly calmer.

"What?" A silence rang through the air and Hinata thanked the gods for this blessing, finally Neji answered, "That's great, that is so great hon--what were you doing drinking last night?" The screaming started up again and Hinata couldn't take it anymore, she ran to the door and opened it with a loud slam.

"SHUT UP!!" She roared, startling Neji and Tenten with her outburst and bloodshot eyes. Her hands snaked up to her head and she clutched it as if to keep it on her neck, "Ugh, what time is it? My head feels like it's going to explode."

"I-it's seven forty-five." Tenten said meekly, checking the watch on Neji's wrist.

"Shit!" Hinata ran back into the room and came out a few seconds later fully dressed and trying to comb out her unruly hair with her fingers.

"Can I borrow one of your cars today, Neji?" Hinata ran down the stairs, grabbing her purse along the way and tried putting her shoes on while only standing on one foot.

"What for?" Neji peered down the railway, watching his cousin buzz around grabbing things and putting them on or shoving them in her mouth.

"I need to get to work, it's Friday, and if I'm not there, I am going to get murdered." She stopped for a moment to ask Neji one last time, "Please, I don't care what car it is, I _need_ to get to work."

"I'm sure Gaara will understand." Neji wrapped an arm around Tenten and began walking down the grand staircase looking like some aristocrat with his mistress.

"No, not _Gaara_, my co-workers!" It was a Friday, which meant that Gaara would visit the office, and if she wasn't there he wouldn't mind too much knowing the situation (and being such a good friend), but her co-workers would tear her apart the next day she was there because Gaara didn't chew her ass off like he would have done for them. She knew they were jealous that she was on such friendly term with the president (especially the women), they had even tried pulling cruel pranks to get her either fired or make her quit, but they were found out and lectured for pulling childish pranks. The last Hinata heard of them, they work in McDonalds as fry cooks.

"Fine. Use the Nissan." Neji tossed the keys over the rail and Hinata dashed up to catch them.

"Thanks." She tucked them away into her pocket and ran out of the door.

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Hinata closed the car door with a slam, cringing and remembering that this wasn't her car. She took out the car keys and pressed the button so that the doors locked with a silent 'click', then ran to the building. She opened the door with her security card, trying not to spill her tall mocha with extra whip cream and shoved the card back into her purse.

"Hey, Hinata! You didn't come yesterday!" Hinata turned to the security guard, Kyo, "It was total havoc, Temari was also sick and Gaara supposedly went into one of his rages."

Hinata paled, when Gaara went into his rages, it took him at least a week to totally calm down. She grabbed her coffee and sprinted to the closest elevator, "Thanks Kyo."

The elevator door finally opened and she quickly pressed the fifteenth floor button and waited another painstakingly long thirty seconds before it opened again to reveal a quiet office with everybody obediently working at their desks.

Not a good sign.

Usually the office was buzzing with noise and you could barely hear yourself think, it usually sounded something like this:

"…Coffee machine's broken!…"

"…Come on baby…."

"…Fix it!..."

"…Ack! My new skirt!…"

"…touch me and die, perv…"

"…Was ugly anyways…"

And that was just the beginning, try enduring that for a whole seven hours, minus a forty-five minute lunch break.

"Great job, bitch." One of her female co-workers hissed venomously. Hinata ignored her, she was used to this, even though Temari was the editor in chief, she as the editor's assistant (and as Gaara's good friend) always got the blame for everything. Not only did Gaara own the several branches of restaurants that spread across the globe, he also owned a magazine titled _National Foods_, and Hinata was as mentioned before, the editor in chief's assistant.

Hinata walked across the office, past all the small cubicles to the large corner office that Gaara usually occupied on Fridays, totally aware of the many pairs of eyes drilling their gaze into her back. Cautiously, she peeked her head into the doorway and almost had her head smashed by a flying vase, "Gaara?"

She entered this time with her hands shielding her face, "You feeling okay? I'm sorry I wasn't there yesterday, is there anything I can do to help?"

"Go away." Came the angry grunt from behind the mountains of paperwork, Hinata carefully stepped over shards of broken vase and over to where she supposed Gaara was.

"Are you sure?" She swerved around the desk to where Gaara sat behind it and crouched next to him, "Do you want me to go to the cafeteria and get you some food? Coffee?"

Gaara looked up from his paperwork and glared, "No. Get out." Hinata gave a sigh, and got up from beside Gaara to head out the door when she heard him call out, "Wait." Hinata turned around to her boss, "Tea." Hinata gave a small smile and headed out the door.

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Hinata moaned and laid her head down into her arms, after giving Gaara his tea, he gave her a foot of paperwork that needed filling out. She had started at nine o'clock, and now it was near time to leave, and she still had a dozen sheets left.

Running her hands through her hair, she decided to check her emails and was surprised to see only one new one, she thought that she'd receive hundreds of hate mails and more work. She opened the email and gave out a ear splitting shriek.

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**Okay, I'm sorry if Tenten seems mean or uncaring, but in this fic, she has a semi-carefree attitude towards life.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	4. Email

**Chapter 4**

Tenten hummed a quiet tune to herself as she scrubbed the dirty dishes in the sink and gently placed them into the drying rack. She let the maid off early today because she was in such a good mood. Neji and her had gotten some more--ahem---_quality_ _time_ together this morning after Hinata had left for work.

Just as she was reaching to place a bowl into the drying rack, the door that she had carefully slid shut, slammed open to reveal an angry, frazzled looking Hinata.

"What is this?" Hinata stormed up to Tenten and shoved a piece of paper into her face, which Tenten held onto and read, her laughter getting louder and louder as she read further and further through it.

"Oh my god, are you serious?" By now, Tenten had sat down onto the nearest chair and was laughing so hard that tears were spilling down her cheeks. She pounded the table with her fist a few times before she wiped away her tears, "No frickin way."

"Yes! And I know you had something to do with it!" Hinata slammed the paper that had been her email before onto the table in front of Tenten. It was a contract with _her_ signature on it, a picture of her, and a message stating she had just won the chance of a life time. A chance to live with Sasuke Uchiha on a TV show.

How romantic.

"Tenten, how could you? I told you not to meddle!" She threw herself onto the chair across from Tenten, "I don't want to go to this…this…thing!" She dropped her head into her arms and groaned. Today was _not_ her day.

Tenten got up from her chair, stood up in front of Hinata and took her head into her hands so that she was facing her, "Hinata. Do not ignore this. This is a sign that you should start seeing someone before you turn into one of those old ladies with twenty-nine cats named after their dead husband."

"But I don't want to start seeing someone on national television! Especially when I'm competing with girls that are probably way prettier than me." Hinata shook her head away from Tenten's hands and placed it back into her arms, "I don't want this."

Tenten's eyebrows knitted together and she whispered, "I'm sorry. I didn't think you would actually win, I just thought I would joke around with you to make you feel better." Hinata's head began to slowly rise from their nest in her arms, giving Tenten the okay sign to continue, "This would be a great opportunity, a great chance to forget Naruto. You'd be able to travel to visit the Uchiha mansion, which might I say is twice the size of this one, and meet new people. Besides, you wouldn't be hurt by this 'ice prince' if he dumped you because you're not madly in 'love' with him. You don't cut his picture out of the magazines like the girls in your office do, hell, you try to avoid using any products associated with the Uchiha corporation because you think they put some sort of love potion in their chemicals."

Hinata slumped back into her chair and sighed, running her hands through her thick hair, "What am I going to do about work? Gaara's gone into one of his rages. And how am I going to explain to Neji? He's never going to let me do this."

"Hinata, Hinata, Hinata." Tenten laid one of her hands on one of her shoulders, "Leave it all to me, I will fix _everything_." She pulled Hinata up by the elbow and pushed her in the direction of the door, "Now by the end of this week, _start packing_. I don't want any excuses if I manage to fix this. You _will_ go to the Uchiha mansion, and you _will_ have a good time."

Hinata took one more step so that she was out of the kitchen, "Fine, but no more meddling after this. I will find my own true love thank you very much." Tenten gave her one last smile before she slammed the door back in Hinata's face. As Hinata walked down the hall and up the stairs, she decided one thing.

She really didn't like that smile.

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The next few days went normally, Hinata would wake up, eat Tenten's 'breakfasts', borrow Neji's car to get to work, get to work, avoid flying vases, get tea, sit down and do more paperwork, go back to the Hyuuga mansion and fall asleep the minute she touched the bed.

Finally, Friday arrived and Hinata was dreading the answer that Tenten was going to give her. Would she be on national television and utterly humiliate herself? Or would she stay at the Hyuuga mansion for a little bit longer, work her ass off everyday and still get paid crap? Either way, she didn't like the cards she was dealt.

She carefully parked the car into the giant garage and got out, making sure not to slam the car doors again. After locking the doors, she proceeded to enter the house, took off her shoes, and went into the kitchen where she normally found Tenten after work.

"Tenten?" Hinata cautiously poked her head through the doorway to find Tenten sitting down at the table with her hands folded neatly in front of her giving Hinata that smile that she found positively frightening.

"Sit down." Tenten motioned with her hand to the chair across from her, and Hinata warily obliged, "Now, I am going to talk to you, and you are not say a word, understand?"

Hinata obediently nodded, feeling that she had no other choice but to do so, letting Tenten take a deep breath and continue, "I've got good news, and I've got bad news. Bad news is that Neji destroyed the fern in the foyer when I told him about this, and Gaara's run out of vases after my little visit to him, so the good news is…" Tenten paused for dramatic effect, glancing out of the corner of her eye to see Hinata's reaction, "…That you will be joining the Uchiha mansion for five months!"

Hinata gave Tenten the most earnest sounding squeal of delight she could muster, but really, she felt like the last little shard of her dignity she had been clutching onto had just shattered into a million pieces. After her and Tenten had their little squeal-athon, Hinata said, "I'm going to pack for this. I leave on Tuesday, right?"

Tenten gave a nod and Hinata left her to saunter up to her room and collapse onto her large bed. Looking up at the ceiling, she grabbed one of the pillows near her and clutched it close to her chest. She felt so frustrated, she didn't want to compete for a man's love when their were girls that would actually tear her hair out. She pulled the pillow up to her face so that it covered her mouth and screamed as loud as she could, it's muffled sound making her feel less stressed.

After what felt like forever of staring up at the ceiling and reminding herself that she was finally at the bottom of the bottomless hole, she wouldn't be able to fall any farther than she already had, she took her phone out of her purse to check her voice messages. Oddly enough, she had seven new voice messages, all from the same number, Naruto.

She held her breath for a second, did she really want to hear this? Would this make her feel worse? Should she just delete all of them now? Unsure and unsteadily, she pressed the OK button and brought the phone to her ears.

"Um…Honey? You there? Er…I've been wondering where you've been and--yeah. Just phone me back, please?" Beep.

"I'm just--just phoning to see if you got the last message 'cause you never phoned me back--and yeah. Bye." Beep.

"Okay. Hinata? Are you all right? Um…I tried phoning Gaara and then it kinda sounded like glass breaking against the speaker…" Beep.

"Where are you? When I asked Tenten if she knew where you were, and she sorta trashed my car after I came back to the parking lot. Love ya sweetie." Beep.

"Okay. I'm worried sick here, now if you don't at least phone to say you're okay, then I'm phoning the police." Beep.

"I'll give you one more chance to at least communicate. I--I miss your cooking…and your piano playing of course! Please, I'm begging you to give me a call." Beep.

"Hinata! Sunny! Come back! I--give me back the phone Choji!--"

"Hey, Hinata! It's me! Choji! How you doing? I hope you're feeling better, 'cause MAN! You should see this guy right here! He's not eating any food because you didn't cook it and his male modeling agency won't take him back until he gets back his muscle and stops looking so skinny and--"

"Sunny. Please. Come back." Beep.

Hinata closed her phone and stared at it. That was it? No apologies? And he misses her food$-? Not her? But he did use the pet name she was so fond of, Sunny. Once again, she was debating on what to do, she didn't want to hear him beg for her to come back, nor did she want him to starve to death. Making a face, she flipped open her phone again and dialled the number she knew all too well.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Rin--

"Hello? Naruto and Hina--I mean, Uzumaki residence." a tired voice sounded through the receiver, making Hinata feel slightly guilty.

"Um…Naruto?" Hinata twirled a lock of hair around her finger and let out a deep breath.

"Who's this? Wait, I know this…" Hinata could practically see him scratching his head and biting his lip in frustration.

Hinata gave out a sigh before saying, "It's me. Hinata." She heard the phone on the other end drop and Naruto scramble to retrieve it.

"Hinata? Holy crap, where are you? Are you okay? Oh my god, what happened? I'm am so glad you phoned and--"

"Naruto." Hinata cut him off, "Eat. I'm flattered that you love my food so much, but you have to eat. I don't want you to ruin your career and life because you won't eat anything that I have not touched."

"…Hinata. Is Kiba telling the truth?" Naruto paused for a second to let out a deep breath, "Are you serious about getting a d-divorce?"

Hinata clutched her chest, those words hit hard. She suddenly wasn't sure whether she wanted to leave him or not. She wanted a hug, Naruto could definitely give her that, but she also wanted to feel wanted. Naruto couldn't give her that. "Naruto, yes. I--"

"Okay, stop right there!" Tenten burst through the doors and stormed over to the frightened Hinata, snatching the phone right from her hands, "Naruto, right? Well I have news for you! You are so not--" Tenten paused her pacing for a moment to listen to Naruto, her face scrunching up in more and more fury, "What? Say that again, I _dare_ you. Yeah, that's right!" With that Tenten flipped back the phone with such vigour that Hinata thought that it would snap in half.

"If he phones again. Don't answer." Tenten still gripped the phone tightly, threatening to break it.

"Oh, Tenten, I don't know what to do." Hinata fell backwards onto the bed, her arms spread out like eagle wings, "I miss him so much, but he doesn't miss me. At least he didn't say so. And I still feel so upset and…lonely."

Tenten put her hand on Hinata's arm, "Hinata, listen to me. I don't know how to mend a broken heart, only time can do that. But at least get over him, he just wasn't meant for you, you are worth so much more than how he treated you. You're beautiful, kind, incredibly intelligent, and the best cook and pianist that I've ever heard of, all of that proves that he is the idiot, not you. So stop beating yourself up about it."

Hinata looked up at Tenten and laughed. She let out all her pain into the laugh, all the frustrations she had been dealing with, everything. After she had finished laughing enough to look Tenten in the eye, she smiled, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

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Aww…Tenten and Hinata are such good friends. But really, do relationships like that actually occur in life? Well probably. Just not in high school XD.

Ciao!

MissLe


	5. Bathroom

**Chapter 5**

Hinata bit her lip uneasily, her stomach felt like it was on it's own little rollercoaster. She was standing in front of the airport with her suitcase in hand and Tenten and Neji by her side.

"Okay! Get ready for the adventure of a life time!" Tenten pumped her fist into the air as if she were the one to go on an airplane and travel thousands of miles so that she could go live with the young heir dubbed 'the ice prince'.

"Um…Tenten, can I speak with you for a second?" Before Tenten could reply back, Hinata had grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the massive washrooms where an old woman was brushing her teeth.

"What's up? Having second thoughts?" Tenten asked in a voice that could only described as dangerous.

"Well…yes, but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Hinata wrung her hands uncomfortably, "I wanted to ask a favour, can you not tell any of the guys? I know Gaara won't tell anyone, but I don't want Naruto to find out."

Tenten brought her hand up to her heart and recited, "I solemnly swear on my husband's nine cars I will not tell Naruto about this contest." She removed her hand and asked, "But seriously, why? He's gonna find out in a few months anyways."

"I don't want him to fly all the way to Los Angeles and kick down the doors of the Uchiha mansion and try to drag me back." She paused and continued, "I'll find a way to deal with him by the end."

"What makes you think he would do that? I'm not saying you're not worth loving!" Tenten threw her hands up defensively, "I-I just don't think he's worth loving you."

Hinata gave a large grin, "Do you remember how he got at that Christmas party when Kiba was drunk and gave me a kiss on the cheek under the mistletoe?" Tenten cringed slightly, "Yeah. I don't want him jealous like that again."

She walked over to the mirror where the old lady had stood not moments before and carefully touched her pale skin, "But you're right. I don't think he loves me, his jealousy is more…_possessiveness_ than anything."

Tenten reached out her hand, "Hinata, you know--"

"Come on Hinata and Tenten! How long do you girls need to do your makeup?" Neji growled out from the exit of the washroom.

"I'm coming! Sorry!" Hinata snapped her gaze away from the mirror and grabbed her suitcase that had been lying dejectedly on the ground beside. She stopped just as she was about to exit, "What were you going to say Tenten?"

"Uh, nothing. Just that I'm sorry that if by any chance you get hurt by all of this." Hinata gave a grateful smile and walked out of the door of the washrooms to greet an overly ornery Neji.

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Hinata stared down out the plane window and gulped, they had gotten pretty far up. She removed her forehead from the window pane and closed the blind.

The farewells with her favourite married couple weren't as hard as she imagined, she thought that she would chicken out at the last minute and try to escape. Hinata tried resting her arm on the armrest next to her but was cut off with a sharp "Hey!"

Hinata turned to the passenger next to her who was staring at her angrily, "That is my armrest." She shoved Hinata's arm off of it and replaced it with her own.

Hinata stared back at the rude stranger in indignation, who did she think she was? Hinata looked closely at the girl, she seemed familiar. The way she flipped her long pink hair vainly, the way her abnormally beautiful emerald eyes radiated confidence and the way her perfume smelled so heavily that Hinata couldn't tell whether or not it smelt good or not seemed so recognizable.

It was none other than the fabulously world renown supermodel Sakura Haruno.

Also known as the terror that haunted her in her high school years.

Hinata immediately turned her head towards the window again and pulled her hair around her so that it was a curtain to hide her face. Suddenly this day had gone from bad to worse. But hopefully Sakura hadn't noticed her or her unusually pale eyes that were normally the target of her cruel teasing.

"Excuse me." Hinata tried getting up and leaving the aisle while avoiding her gaze with Sakura. She successfully got past Sakura without any contact and into the washroom where she tried calming down. Curse this contest and it's first class seats. Curse Naruto. Curse Sasuke Uchiha for coming up with this stupid contest. Curse Sakura Haruno. And curse her and her lack of confidence.

She walked as steadily as she could over to the toilet and put down the lid so that she could sit down onto it and sort out all her thoughts. Suddenly the door burst open and then closed with a quick 'click'.

"What?" Hinata quickly shot her head up to the man who had burst into the washroom, panting.

"Shh!" He hissed and pushed his back against the door. Hinata's mind screamed fear, why was this man in the women's washroom? And why did he relock the door? Was he going to rape her?

A small pack of giggles and shrill whispers passed the washroom and headed into the economy section of the plane and the man sank down onto the floor with a sigh. He looked up at Hinata and suddenly his expression changed from relieved to suspicious and defensive, "What are you doing in here?" He growled.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Hinata placed her hands on her hips and glared back at this strange man, her fear disappeared and replaced with anger.

"Well why are you in the men's washroom?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but Hinata cringed back as if he had shouted. Men's washroom? Some people were born under an unlucky star. She was born under an unlucky _galaxy._

"Men's washroom?" Hinata got up from her seat unsteadily and stepped over the man that was sitting in front of the door, "I am so sorry. Excuse me."

The man reached out and grabbed her ankle, making her trip and fall right into his lap, "Don't you dare try to go out there. Those girls would sniff out trouble in a second, find me, then probably scratch your eyes out."

Hinata gasped and lightly touched her eyelid, "My eyes? Who are you? Sniff out trouble?" This sounded like something she usually read in her fantasy books, the heroine finds mysterious guy, guy turns out to be dangerous, girl falls in love with guy, guy turns out to not only be dangerous but also supernatural, relationship ends happily.

He groaned audibly, "Not literally you idiot. You watch way too much TV." He pushed her off his lap and ran his hands through his soft hair.

"I do not watch too much TV! I hardly watch any! I hate it, it shows useless programs that only have people lying and harming each other." Hinata said angrily, trying to keep her voice under a whisper.

He stared at Hinata with intense curiosity, making her shift uncomfortably, "What? Do I have a booger on my nose?" She quickly wiped her nose and checked her hand.

The man chuckled, it was a nice noise, it was throaty and meaningful, "I've never had anyone other than my brother and parents treat me like this."

"Treat you like what?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Treat me like I've done something wrong." He gave Hinata the smallest of smiles, Hinata had never found anyone's smile as gorgeous as Naruto's except for then.

"Are you really that special? So special that no one gets mad at you?" Hinata raised her eyebrow sceptically.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" He smiled mysteriously at her.

"Should I? Are you one of Naruto's friends, because you do seem somewhat familiar." She mused and stroked her chin in thought mockingly.

He shook his head, "So why are you off to Los Angeles?"

Hinata hung her head, "Ugh, don't get me started. I was entered into a contest by my meddling best friend. And believe me, it's the last thing I want to enter."

The man laughed again, "Tell me, what might this contest be?"

"Well, I think it's called, 'Wife Search'. That has to be the lamest and most uncreative name I have ever heard of." She shook her in what looked like disappointment.

The man's face held some emotion that was unknown to Hinata, but quickly changed back to a fairly pleasant one, "Really? I've heard that Mr. Uchiha could be quite the harsh man."

She sighed, "I've heard that too, but I don't know him, I don't know what he's really like and I don't know why he's so cold, but I'm sure he has a good reason. Besides, I told you, I didn't want$- to enter this contest anyways."

"What's your name?" He asked suddenly.

She gave a grin, "Hinata. Hinata Hyuuga."

"Pleased to meet you Ms. Hyuuga." He stuck out his hand and she shook it, she was surprised at how strong his grip was, she would had thought he would have been fairly frail due to his lean body, "My name's---"

"Will all passengers please report back to their seats, we will be arriving in the Los Angeles airport momentarily." The cool voice of one of the stewardesses sounded through the speakers.

"Well, I guess that's my cue to finally leave." She got up from the floor and stretched herself out without managing to hit the man.

"I've had fun in here with you. I don't know how long it's been since I've laughed like that." He grinned and held the door for her.

"Me too. Which is ironic considering we were on an airplane bathroom floor." She stepped out, then paused, "You haven't told me your name yet."

He held the door still, considering whether or not he should say anything. He finally just leaned over closely to Hinata and whispered something into Hinata's ear, then walked off to his seat. Hinata stood rooted to her spot for five seconds and paled. She was so screwed. She should have totally kept her mouth shut or just left the room.

She just had her first conversation with Sasuke Uchiha.

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**HAHAHAHA!!! CLIFFHANGER!! By the way, I just wanted to mention I'll only be able to update on Fridays and Saturdays.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	6. Limo

Chapter 6 

Hinata dragged her heavy suitcase along behind her with a grunt, Tenten must of snuck more clothes into there, it was five times heavier than when she had packed it. She looked around and finally found a man with tie hanging loosely around his shoulders holding a large paper sign that read, "Hinata Hyuuga". She quickened her pace and headed up to the man.

"E-excuse me, my name's Hinata Hyuuga." She fiddled with a long strand of her hair and tucked it back behind her ear.

He looked down lazily at and examined her quickly. "You're the ex-Hyuuga heiress? You hardly seem fit for some job as tough and painstakingly boring as that."

Hinata opened her mouth in an indignant and surprised O. The only people that new she was originally heiress to the large and powerful Hyuuga corporation were Neji, Tenten, Kiba, her father, mother, sister and a handful of the members from elders' council. Not even Naruto knew, this man must have done his homework.

"And that is probably the reason why I'm here instead of in a stuffy office doing paperwork or other equally boring jobs." She picked up the handle to her bag and asked, "So, shall we go?"

He chuckled and scratched the back of his spiky ponytail, "Good answer. By the way, my name's Shikamaru and I'll be your personal chauffer throughout this contest." He stuck out his hand and roughly shook Hinata's petite one. "This way."

He led her through the crowds of people, weaving in and out with ease, whereas Hinata clumsily stepped on any poor soul's foot who happened to get in the way of her path. Finally they arrived at a large black limousine with tinted windows.

"Wow. I get this whole limo to myself?" Hinata turned her head up to gaze at Shikamaru, she had always been petite, but this man made her feel like a midget, he must have been at least six foot six.

"Well, this limo will be used later by other contestants, but you will be the only one riding in it for the moment. And if you find yourself 'lucky' enough to win any one-on-one time with Sasuke." Hinata didn't miss the way he said lucky, but didn't press the matter. She climbed into the long vehicle through the door that Shikamaru held open.

She idly fiddled with the little buttons that turned on the TV, opened the windows, opened little drawers and cup holders, and any other miscellaneous doodads.

Shikamaru entered the limo and turned on the engine. He rested his arm on the back of the passenger seat and turned to face Hinata, "So, how fast do you like to go?"

"Fast?" Her face scrunched up in confusion, "Well I'm not that fast of a person and I feel slightly squeamish when we do go fast, but as long as no one gets hurt or the police don't catch us, I can take it." She regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth, because no sooner had they come tumbling out, they sped off at speeds that Kiba only dreamt of going at.

Three and a half minutes later, they arrived at the gates to the Uchiha mansion, Hinata could hardly appreciate it's grandeur and beauty when she was clutching her chest making sure that her heart was still beating and trying to remember how to breathe.

The car stopped at the end of the driveway and Shikamaru opened the door for Hinata, chuckling, "Well, you've passed my test, most girls begin screaming and shouting in my ear by the time we've reached the exit to the airport parking lot."

"Thanks to Kiba's constant 'training'." She tumbled out of the car and clumsily up righted herself.

"Follow me." He walked up to the door with Hinata following him behind like a lost puppy and held it open, "This is as far as I go. I have to go pick up the next contestant, you're about twenty minutes early, which means you have time to go pick out your room and put away all your stuff."

"Well, bye Shikamaru. I hope to see you later on in the future." She gave him a small grin and headed in through the large wooden doors.

As soon as se stepped in she stopped to take a good look at her surroundings, the foyer was huge, it must have at one time been several rooms but had the walls taken away, it reminded her of the ballrooms in the princess Disney movies. Off in the opposite end of the foyer was a tall staircase that reminded her so much of Tenten and Neji's mansion that she felt a pang of homesickness in her gut.

She began to trudge along the foyer when a man ran out of one of the rooms shielding his face with his arms in protection from a flying vase.

"--AND IF EVER DECIDE TO STEP YOUR ASS IN MY OFFICE AGAIN, THEN I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOUR ASS WILL BE ON A SILVER PLATTER FOR MY DINNER!!!!" Another vase flew out of the room.

Apparently Hinata wasn't the only one who had a boss with a temper.

The man quickly closed the door behind him and fixed his…top hat? Hinata stood in her spot for a moment and stared at the strange man fifty feet from her. Other than his top hat, he wore everyday normal clothing, well, normal for a celebrity at least, all his clothes seemed to designer labels. He surprised her by looking up at her suddenly and barking rudely at her, "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"Me?" Hinata looked around, flustered, "I-I'm Hinata Hyuuga, um, I'm here for the contest."

Suddenly a surprised grin spread on the man's face, "Oh! Please forgive my rudeness, I didn't realize who you were, you're quite early." In several long strides, he was right in front of Hinata.

"Yes I know, Shikamaru dropped me off early so he could go get the other…contestants." She realised that his strangeness did not stop at just having a top hat, his top hat also covered his right eye, seemingly on purpose.

"Now why would he do that? He drives fast enough to get all of them here within ten minutes." He had pulled a small book out of his back pocket and began reading it. Hinata tried not feel offended by that and hoped that he didn't think that she was too boring.

"It's rush hour." Hinata stated simply.

"Ah." He finally looked up from his book and shook her hand, "My name is Kakashi, I'm the director and producer of Wife Search." Once Hinata gave a polite nod and removed her hand from his he said, "Go find a room and leave your stuff here, we'll get one of the maids to bring it to the room you choose." with that he left Hinata in the middle of the foyer all by herself. Again.

She sighed and dropped everything, she was still struggling with the concept of the fact that she was going to be on national television. As if on cue several cameramen surrounded her, "What?" Hinata looked around in slight panic.

"Shh!" One of them hissed, "Pretend we're not here!"

Hinata shrugged then walked towards the stairs with the cameramen following her quietly. As soon as she reached the top of the stairs she looked around at the hallway that extended down to her right and left. The hallway had several doors with numbers on them leading to what she assumed were rooms. She wandered down the hall looking in the rooms.

One of the rooms were a bright white, it held a single mac computer, a large round bed, and several other interesting objects. It looked too modern for her.

The next room was fairly large and Hinata felt a bit drawn to it, until she saw the bed. It was a huge king sized one like the one at Naruto's apartment, but that wasn't the reason she didn't want it. It was _frilly._ And it had hearts on it. Not something she was really attracted to.

After looking through half a dozen rooms she finally entered the last room with a large 17 on the door. She grasped the handle and slowly opened it, inhaling sharply. The room was absolutely beautiful, it had a large window that viewed the whole front of the estate and a neatly made bed with satin sheets. She walked into the room in awe, almost completely forgetting about the cameras following it.

"…It's beautiful." She whispered and ran her hand along the sheets.

"And mine." Hinata and the cameramen whirled around to see Sakura in all her glory with her hands on her hips and her tousled hair swaying slightly. She strutted into the room, loving every minute of the camera time she had and pushed Hinata away from the bed, "I get this room. Besides, number seventeen is my favourite number."

Hinata stood there numbly, Sakura was still the bitchy princess she remembered her as, obviously a taste of the real world didn't wake her to reality after she left high school. Then again, the world Sakura considered real consisted of hotels that cost thirty-five thousand dollars a night to rent, free designer clothing samples, wild parties every other night, men falling at her feet, and pay checks that equalled up to Hinata's annual salary.

"Fine. I-I'll go grab one of the other rooms." She said meekly and turned to the doorway, she could practically _hear_ the smirk on Sakura's face, "By the way, the number seventeen is considered cursed in Switzerland." She had no idea whether or not this was true, but just wanted the last word as she left the room and cameramen to ogle at Sakura's beauty.

She didn't want any of the other rooms, that last one was so perfect, so beautiful and comforting. Well not anymore. She would sleep on one of the couches if she had too. She tried to keep her chin up and keep the tears from spilling out, God she hated being so obedient and meek, but it was a attribute that had been burned into her since she had been very small.

She walked down the stairs and noticed several other bags lying on the floor. Great, less time to find and actually keep a room.

Wandering around the foyer a bit she noticed a small alcove right beside the stairs, curious, she headed over there. Once she had reached it, she looked around and noticed a door that was almost concealed to her left with the number thirteen engraved into the wooden door.

Slowly, she opened the door to find another room, larger and quieter than any of the other ones. There was a decent sized four poster bed off on one side of the room, a writing desk in the other, and a large window that showed out into the garden, the room itself reminded her of something you might find in a Victorian picture book. It was classic, and Hinata was in absolute awe over it. It wasn't a gorgeous type of beautiful like the room she had chosen earlier, it had character.

She ran out of the room and quickly gathered all her bags to bring back into her newly claimed room, slamming the door behind her suspiciously.

"Will all contestants please report to the foyer with their paperwork." Kakashi's voice rang through the speaker that was in the far corner above her dresser.

Scrambling through her suitcase and throwing everything into piles around her feet she finally found her paperwork all scrunched up and crinkled. She rushed out the door and stole across the foyer in attempt to draw less attention to her and her room. At least twenty girls stood crowded around Kakashi giggling and pointing at his ridiculous top hat.

"Ladies! Ladies! Please place all of your paperwork on the stand next to me." Kakashi waited until that was finished and raised his eyebrow at Hinata's crumpled piece of paper compared to the other perfectly placed sheets. Hinata smiled sheepishly up at him then scurried back into the group of girls, "Now, I just would like to inform all of you that tonight, fourteen of the twenty women will be eliminated." Several gasps and groans came from the girls and even a horrified scream echoed through the foyer.

"Tonight you will be dining and dancing here with Sasuke Uchiha himself, so get into your most dazzling attire and meet back down here in fifteen minutes. Go!" Girls scattered and darted to their rooms, slamming the doors behind them and leaving Hinata and Kakashi being the last ones left.

"I…um… guess I should go now." She walked quickly to her room and shut the door behind her. Now, what did Tenten pack for her?

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**There are twenty girls there, which means that six are gonna be left behind. Just to clear things up.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	7. Dinner and a Dance

**Chapter 7**

Hinata uncomfortably pulled up at the cleavage that showed from her long black dress. She couldn't believe that Tenten would pack her a dress like this for her, it was gorgeous enough, but it was so _revealing_. The collar of it dipped low into a large V, a large slit ran up her leg revealing a large amount of her leg whenever she walked, and rest of it was tight and restricting.

"Now, ladies, are we all here?"Kakashi looked around, pointing and counted all the heads, "We're missing one."

Hinata looked around and didn't see the always perfect and strangely natural pink head of Sakura, she raised her hand, "Sakura's not here."

"Really? Ms. Haruno?" As soon as Sakura's name was said, it was like a fire had spread across the floor, the girls all gossiping animatedly about the infamous model, Sakura Haruno's drinking problem, her so called bulimia and other various tidbits that could be said against her.

"I'm right here." All faces turned up to look at Sakura who was making her dramatic entrance by sweeping down the stairs elegantly. She wore an extremely short black dress that cut down even deeper than Hinata's. _Much_ deeper. But of course, it didn't look skanky on her, only alluring and fabulous.

"Ah, good, we're all here then!" Kakashi clapped his hands and adjusted his top hat so that it rested even further down his eye.

Several men came in carrying large platters of food and placed them all onto the large dining table in the centre of the great foyer that looked more like a ballroom than anything.

"Ladies, I'd like you to all take a seat at the dining room table, Mr. Uchiha will join all of you shortly." All the girls scurried to the table anxiously and took their seats, once again leaving Hinata and Kakashi the only ones standing up.

"I, uh, should sit down." She sat down at the last seat at the end of the row and tried reaching for a piece of bread that was across from her.

Suddenly a hand discreetly slapped it away, Hinata turned to look at the girl that sat next to her who was staring straight ahead and whispered from the corner of her crimson coloured lips, "We're supposed to wait for Sasuke-san to arrive."

"Oh." Hinata gave a grateful smile to the pretty stranger next to her, who just continued to stare straight ahead and ignore her.

Shrieks and applause were suddenly heard and Hinata looked up in alarm, did she miss something? Obviously, because Kakashi announced over the screams of swooning girls, "And here he is, Mr. Sasuke Uchiha himself!"

Lo and behold, there stood Sasuke in all his glory, his hair wasn't sticking up in it's normal rooster fashion, it fell down in smooth layers and Hinata had to admit, he looked nice in a tie. _Very_ nice indeed.

"Welcome to my mansion." He gave a small bow and Hinata began to wonder, did his voice sound this captivating and tempting when they were in the airplane? Or did it just come with the whole celebrity package?

He walked over to the table, Hinata couldn't help but watch the graceful way that his long, slender legs gave almost equally long strides, and to her absolute horror, he sat down at the head of the table, which happened to be right next to her.

"Dig in." Hinata greedily snatched a bun off of the plate in front of her and slathered a ridiculous amount of cream cheese all over it. She took a large mouthful and swallowed, hardly bothering to chew. She hadn't eaten in twenty-four hours and it was a miracle that she hadn't already collapsed, so the food that settled into her stomach--no matter how little there was--felt like it was heaven sent.

She turned her gaze to the chicken that was farther down the table, just out of her reach, and noticed several gazes of eyes directed towards her. What? Did she have something on her face? She consciously scrubbed at her face with her napkin, but found nothing.

"Hey!" A girl diagonally hissed at her in what looked somewhat like disgust, "Do you know how many carbs are in those?" Hinata looked back into her blue orbs and had to pinch her thigh in order to burst out laughing.

"No, but I think I'll be able to survive the night with the guilt of having an extra seven hundred calories on my hips without being able to spend two hours straight in the gym." She replied sarcastically.

"Well I'm _sorry_, just don't complain if you suddenly wake up three hundred pounds." She tossed her pale blond her back behind her haughtily. Hinata felt slightly guilty, she hadn't meant to snap like that, she always got crabby when she was low on fuel.

Hinata snatched the chicken with her fork and took slow chews, trying to savour the flavour as she looked around at the girls discussing (gossiping) animatedly and attempting to converse with Sasuke who answered all their questions (demands) politely, if not sharply.

Miss Calorie-Counter took a small, guilty nibble out of her piece of pie and immediately put it down, then turned towards Sasuke, "So you _do_$- have a gym here, right?" She gave the most dazzling smile to him, and did she just_ bat_ her eyelashes?

Hinata burst out into fits of laughter/chokes and once she finally managed to calm down she asked with tears of laughter, "Oh my god, you _were_ serious about the two hours in the gym!"

Miss Calorie-Counter gave a dirty glare to Hinata and for the first time that night, Sasuke gave a small laugh.

"What size are you?" Miss Calorie-Counter turned on Hinata, her glare would probably burned off the flesh on Hinata's face had she made a point not to look her way.

"Excuse me?" She gave Miss Calorie-Counter a strange look.

"Your _size_." She said through gritted teeth.

"Uh, four?" She scrunched her eyes, this girl was crazy.

Miss Calorie-Counter gave a triumphant smirk, "Well, I'm a zero, so who's laughing now?"

Hinata exchanged a quick glance with Sasuke and they both burst out laughing, out of nowhere the cameras scurried around them, trying to pick up on the inside joke, making Sasuke and Hinata instantly stop their laughter.

Suddenly, a glass of wine came tumbling into her lap, "Oops!?Hinata and Sasuke turned towards Sakura who had the fakest innocent look on her face, "I am _such_ a klutz. Did I ruin your fake designer dress? I am _so _sorry!"

Hinata tried twisting her lips into a smile, but it must of turned out into a grimace because Sakura's sneer just widened and Hinata said as steadily as she could, "Oh it's no problem _at all_. Expect the drycleaner bill in a few weeks."

She quickly, _too_ quickly, backed out of her chair and bolted into her bedroom, collapsing onto the bed. Wow. That _really_ must have impressed Sasuke, who wouldn't be turned on by a girl who had a large stain on her dress that looked like she just unexpectedly had her period?

Normally, she wouldn't care if Sasuke was impressed or not, but being on national television with her high school nemesis brought out a vicious competitive streak in her.

She rummaged through her suitcase and found the shirt that she had worn to the fair with Tenten. Clumsily, she managed to strip out of her dress, put on the blouse and a pair of tight fitting jeans and fling the dress carelessly onto the bed.

With her head held high, she exited the room and sat down in her previous spot that she had left not minutes ago, the cameras and everyone's gaze following her, expecting her to do something drastic to Sakura.

"Sakura," Hinata called across the table, all eyes waiting intently for her to scream, yell, swear or something at her.

"Would you please pass the butter?"

Audible disappointed sighs echoed through the hall and Sakura passed the butter along to Hinata with a sugar coated smile that made Hinata want to retch, "Of course, it's the least I can do after what I did to your..." She trailed off for a second, ".._gorgeous_ dress."

"Oh, that? Think nothing of it." Hinata gave Sakura back that disgustingly sweet smile and snatched the butter from her.

After a few minutes, Sasuke cleared his throat and the noise that filled the room immediately silenced, "The dance, has now begun." A quartet that Hinata had never noticed before in the corner struck up a waltz. Several men filed into the foyer and Hinata supposed that they were also there to dance.

Girls jumped from their seats and swarmed around Sasuke in order to get him to dance with them. He finally just promised they'd all have a chance and randomly picked out a girl to dance with, it was Ms. Crimson-Lips.

Hinata snorted, _all have a chance_? Wasn't he rather full of himself? She was beginning to wonder if this really was the same man she had met in the bathroom. Sitting back and biting lazily into an apple, she watched men and women float gracefully across the floor to the waltz and wondered if she was that unattractive that no one asked her to get up and dance.

"Hey." Hinata turned around and noticed Shikamaru sitting back in the chair next to her with his feet kicked up onto the table.

"Oh, hi." She gave him a smile, "You look very…comfortable." She said referring to his laid back position, untied tie that hung loosely around his broad shoulders and shirt collar that had been unbuttoned.

"You too." He took a leg of chicken and chewed carefully, pointing at her blouse and jeans.

She gave a laugh, "Well, that's what you get when you dine in a house with stark crazy girls who pine for one man's attention."

Shikamaru gave a small snort, "Maybe you would've been better off with the paperwork."

"Maybe." She whispered softly, then turned on Shikamaru, "Why aren't you dancing?"

He shrugged and took another bite out of his chicken leg, "Too troublesome." Hinata snickered and he glared at her, "What?"

"Don't tell me," She gave another small giggle, "You don't know how to dance?"

He turned kind of red then turned away, "I said no such thing." He retorted angrily.

She stood up and held her hand out, "Here, come on, I'll show you how, it's easy."

He ignored her hand but stood up anyways, "Fine. Let's dance." He grabbed her other hand and her waist, pulling her tight against him. He waltzed gracefully across the dance floor, spinning her around occasionally.

"Hey, you said you couldn't dance!" Hinata said accusingly as he spun her around again.

"I did not, I said that it was too troublesome." He spun her back into his arms and continued to parade around the ballroom.

"Why? This coming from the man who has to pick up passengers in his limo in _rush hour_?" Hinata asked, she was almost having trouble keeping up with him and his magnificent waltzing. Almost.

"Why do you think I speed like that?" He asked smugly.

Hinata growled impatiently and he sighed, "Well I--I don't have very fond memories of it.?His face darkened considerably but he continued, "When we were in high school and had to learn how to dance, it didn't matter how good you were at dancing, you had to be good looking, athletic, and most of all, good looking, in order for the girls to acknowledge your presence. And I just happened to one of the _lesser boys_, so the girls tended to avoid me in dance like the plague itself."

"Oh, I--I'm sorry." She drooped her head, "I know how it feels to be the one who blended into the walls, the one who watched as the certain beautiful people of the school continued their cruel reign." She turned and gazed at the men who pushed and shoved just to have several seconds of a dance with Sakura.

"Sakura?" Shikamaru asked, following Hinata's gaze. Hinata nodded glumly and regained her posture.

"Hn, funny. Because the Mr. Fancy-Pants of my school happened to be..." He hesitated "...Sasuke."

Hinata gave a small chuckle, "That is fairly ironic that the beautiful Sasuke _and_ Sakura happen to be in the same contest with each other. A match made in heaven."

Shikamaru and Hinata shared a small laugh together before a light tap on Hinata's shoulder caused her to spin around, "Hm?"

"May I cut in?" Sasuke asked politely, and Hinata hoped with all her heart that he did not just hear their conversation.

"Of course." Shikamaru said between gritted teeth and pushed Hinata right into Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke held onto Hinata's hand and wrapped a strong arm around her waist, "So, did you enjoy the dinner?" He asked in attempt to make conversation.

"It was delicious, and I'm sure I enjoyed it a lot more than the other girls." She said referring to the fact that the others practically starved themselves during the meal.

He gave the barest trace of a grin, "I'm sure." They paraded aimlessly around the ballroom several times before Sasuke tried to strike up a conversation again, "Will your dress be okay? Wine's pretty hard to get out."

"I--I don't know. I hope so, it's not even my dress.?She suddenly felt very conscious in jeans as she waltzed around the ballroom with _Sasuke Uchiha_.

The silence between them grew and grew and finally he asked Hinata irritably, "Do you find me that intimidating that you can't talk to me? You seemed fairly capable of talking to Shikamaru." Hinata could hear a small amount of regret mixed in with his anger and annoyance.

"Well for one, you seem to get annoyed when the girls constantly grab your attention and talk to you, and second," She paused and continued in a lower voice, "I don't like the cameras."

He threw his head back and gave the same laugh he had given to her in the airplane washroom, "Then why did you ever enter this contest?"

"I told you!" She yelled out frustrated with Sasuke and the cameras following their every move, "I didn't _want_ to enter this stupid contest!"

Sasuke's face turned hard as stone and Hinata instantly slapped a hand to her mouth, "I--I didn't mean it like that! It just---" The song came to an end and Sasuke dipped her low to the ground.

"Have a nice night Ms. Hyuuga." He righted her up and went up to stage to take the mike.

"Ladies, I'd like your attention for a moment please," It seemed whenever Sasuke Uchiha spoke, the whole world was enraptured by him, because the room was suddenly shushed and attentive.

"I'd like to announce," He paused for a moment, Hinata guessed for dramatic tension, "that I've made my decision on who will stay with me for the next six months."

Girls crowded around the stage, leaving the other men that were dancing with them previously, sulking in the corner with their arms crossed.

"I'd just like to say, that you have all been quite charming, and I regret having to rid you of my house." Hinata could see the strained smile on his face and had to cough to cover up her laughter, "I will say the names of those girls who have impressed me most, the girls who's names were not called, must immediately grab their bags and leave the estate.

"Now, here they are," He cleared his throat, "Haku Kokubo, Temari Sabaku, Kin Tsuchi," Hinata began walking back to her room, there was no hope that she would ever make anyways, not after what she said, "Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, and Hinata Hyuuga."

Hinata held her breath for a moment, was this for real? After all that she said, he still wanted her here?

"Ladies, please step on the stage with me." Sasuke called out to the floor over the cries and sobs of rejected contestants.

Hinata slowly made her way up to the stage and stood right between Miss Calorie Counter and Temari. Whoa. Temari? She turned towards her and gave a huge grin, "Temari! You don't know how good it is to see you!" She whispered excitedly.

Temari looked at her like she might have been a half squashed spider who had squealed a plea for help, "Excuse me?"

Hinata gave Temari a confused look, this was her boss, her friend, there was no doubt about the fact that this was Temari Sakuma the editor in chief of _National Foods_. She whispered again, "Temari, it's me, Hinata!"

"Oh. Right." She said coolly and looked away. Hinata felt the hurt creep up onto her face but thankfully didn't feel her eyes water.

Once the hall had cleared out Sasuke cleared his throat again, "Welcome to the Uchiha mansion." He gave a small bow and the girls all giggled except Hinata who rolled her eyes.

Sasuke went up to the girls that were standing in the line and gave each of them a quick peck on the lips, but when he reached Sakura, she took hold of his neck and plunged her tongue into his mouth Hinata felt like throwing up again, of course Sakura would pull a stunt like that, what man wouldn't enjoy that? But Sasuke surprised her by jerking away instantly as if he had been electrocuted and gave her a fleeting look of anger.

He moved on and when he bent down to kiss Hinata, she turned her face so he only got her cheek, "Oh, uh, look! A piece of lint!" She brushed off a non-existent piece of lint that had been on his collar and flushed a light pink.

"Really? Thank you." He said coldly to her and turned his back on her. Every time she was around him, she always said the wrong thing, this contest must have been sent from God as punishment to her.

"Now, Haku, Temari, Sakura, Kin, Ino and…_Hinata_." The way he said Hinata made the girls burst out with laughter and Hinata's face to become one bright tomato, "I hope you enjoy your stay here, how ever long you do happen to stay." He gave them all a smile, "Tomorrow we will be dining at the Aqua Pier," Squeals rang out, everyone new that restaurant name, it was one of Gaara's many branches, his _main one_, Hinata sincerely hoped that he wouldn't be there.

"Good night and sweet dreams." He left them with a flourish and headed out the main door. Hinata trudged along to her room, elimination day could not come sooner.

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**HA! I got TWO chapters up, woot!**

**P.S. Just to tell you guys, this will _never_ turn into a ShikamaruXHinata. EVER. So don't get your hopes up.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	8. Aqua Pier

**Chapter 8**

Hinata turned over in her bed, and looked up at the alarm clock she had set up last night, it was 7:03 a.m., she buried her head deep into her pillow and gave out a small groan. Stupid undercooked chicken. Stupid Miss Calorie Counter. Stupid Sakura. Stupid Temari. Stupid _Sasuke._

Reluctantly, she rolled out of bed and onto the cold hardwood floor, "Ow…" She groaned, God how she hated mornings. She got up and stumbled blearily into the washroom to have a quick shower and quickly grabbed her bathrobe to bring into the bathroom with her.

Once she had stepped into the washroom, she decided she wanted a bath instead. No. _Deserved_ a bath, after all, she was in a house with crazy girls and a man who seemed to be set upon hating her and keeping her here at the same time.

After the tub had filled all the way up, she climbed in and let out a large sigh of, not relief, she wouldn't be relieved until she left this god damned contest, but of relaxation. Her muscles felt so tense that she thought they would have exploded sooner or later had she not taken this baths.

She didn't know how long she sat in the bathtub, but realised she had gotten too wrinkly, she looked like a giant pale prune! Sighing, she regretted having to leave this temporary bliss, but if she wanted to look as fabulous and as unrecognizable as possible for when they ate at the Aqua Pier, she would have to start early. She reluctantly hoisted herself out of the tub and wrapped the fuzzy robe around her body, wondering what she should wear, she had only found that one dress in the trunk. It was a good thing that she had sent it down to the mansion's private drycleaner.

She left the room cautiously with the bathrobe pulled tightly against her, the other girls probably weren't up due to the whole concept of beauty sleep, so she wouldn't have to worry about running into one of them.

She scurried across the foyer as quickly as possible when she ran right into someone while she was checking over her shoulders warily. She looked up into the face of the person who she had run into and let out a loud shriek, but was quickly silenced with a hand to her mouth.

"Shh! Be quiet! Do you plan on waking the dead? Not to mention the whole house?" Hinata brushed the hand away and pulled the robe against her uncomfortably before looking back up into the dark eyes of the mansion's owner.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, her face must have made a strawberry look pale in comparison.

"I _do_ happen to live here you know." Sasuke frowned, he didn't make any sign that he noticed she was only in a bathrobe other than the faintest trace of a blush on his cheeks.

"I know that, well kinda, I mean, well…" She wrung her fingers together, the word flustered couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling, "To put it bluntly, aren't you afraid of being molested by one of these girls?"

He gave out a deep laugh, "Why should I be afraid of these girls? I did keep them here after all." He eyed her and chuckled at the way she squirmed under his scrutiny, "But I see your point." He pointed at the small almost unseen alcove in the corner that led to her room, "Don't think your room is the only one that is hidden, there are many more in this house that are much more well disguised than yours."

Hinata gave him a lost look, "Why?"

He shrugged, "This house was built during one of the wars, I don't recall which one, but they would hide in these rooms for days when the house was raided."

Hinata's eyes shone with curiosity and excitement, "Which room's yours?"

"If I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret, not would it?" He teased, making Hinata pout in response. He finally gave in to her pout and continued with a sigh, "Eleven. It's room eleven."

She gave him a confused stare, "I don't remember seeing a room eleven…"

"Let's just say mine room is much more protected and hidden than yours." He gave a small smile, "I guess you should be finding some…" He scanned her body up and down for a second causing Hinata to cover her chest consciously, "…clothes."

"Huh. You're right." She said coolly, how dare he look at her like that when he already _knew_ she was naked underneath this bathrobe.

He looked confused and slightly hurt at the way she said that, his face suddenly was devoid of emotion again, "Your right, you're hardly be _decent_ right now." His sneer the only trace of emotion on his face.

"Why thank you for the _obvious_ statement Mr. Uchiha." She turned on her heel, "I will see you at lunch later."

"Fine. Goodbye." He fumed, turning around and beginning to walk in the direction he had been heading before.

"Fine." They turned to look at each other and glared.

"Fine!" They yelled at each other, then spun back around and stormed off. Once she had rounded the corner she slumped down against the wall, why did she always have to always turn into a beast when he was around? The behaviour she and Sasuke had just demonstrated was that of a child! She had to chuckle a bit, it was almost worth it to see the$- ice prince fuming and storming off in a huff.

She wandered around, lost, for a few minutes in the giant estate when she finally found a door marked 'LAUNDRY'. She entered and found her dress quickly, it seemed that this laundry room wasn't used very often considering her dress was the only piece of clothing in the room. Grabbing the dress she stripped out of her bathrobe and awkwardly pulled on the dress, it seemed to be fine, not a trace of wine on it.

Once she had returned to her bedroom, she checked the time, 9:06 a.m.. She had spent too much time in the bath, bickering with Sasuke, and searching for the laundry room. Groaning, she pulled out all contents of her bag and threw them onto her bed haphazardly. She rummaged around through the mess until she found a pair of shoes that had heels that were low enough that she could manage about three steps without falling, a curling iron, and a white silk scarf.

Hinata ran a hand through her hair before plugging in the curling iron and bringing the iron to the tips of her hair. She looked out the window, the weather was perfect, the sun was shining brightly against the hardwood floorboards, and birds probably would have been singing had it not been the dead of winter. It was gorgeous, but she couldn't bring herself to smile. Sure, everything _outside_ was perfect, but inside this crazy house, in her mind, it was absolute chaos and turmoil. She missed Tenten, she missed Neji, she missed Gaara, She missed Kiba, and she _almost _missed Naruto.

Once she had completed the task of curling the tips of her hair, she wrapped the smooth scarf around her neck and slipped on Tenten's Jimmy Choos. Cautiously, she walked towards the door and was pleased with the results, she managed the whole five meters without spraining her ankle.

Pulling out her sleek black cell phone, she began to dial Tenten's number, but cursed when she noticed the nonexistent reception bar in the top right hand corner of the small screen. Where would she find another phone? There certainly weren't any in her room.

She sighed and began wandering around once more, that seemed the only way she was going to find anything. After a good seven minutes of looking at different signs on different doors, she finally found one that read 'TELEPHONE' in large black letters.

She entered the room and found the phone in the corner right beside a large couch covered in several beige pillows. After dialling the number and fiddling with the phone cord for several seconds, the phone picked up.

"Hello? Neji speaking." Neji's deep voice through the speaker made Hinata want to burst into tears.

"Neji! It's me, Hinata." She greeting joyously, she missed everybody at home so much.

"Hinata!" Neji's voice was so loud that Hinata had to hold the phone several inches away from her ear, "Where are you! Are you okay? You were supposed to phone when you arrived in Los Angeles!"

"I was? Well, I'm phoning you now. From the Uchiha mansion." She asked confused, didn't Tenten already tell him?

"WHAT?!" Hinata dropped the phone with a yelp, touchy much? "The _Uchiha_ mansion? What the hell are you doing there? Tenten said you were going for a seminar for National Foods."

Oops.

"Er…yeah. I'm…uh h-here for the s-seminar." Crap. He would know that she was lying, she always stuttered when she was lying.

"Hinata. Tell me the---Hey! Tenten! Stay out of this!" Neji's voice slowly grew farther and farther away.

"Hinata? It's me. Tenten."

Hinata held her breath, she was so happy to hear the ones she loved, even if it was just a phone call. She didn't say anything and could only hear the faint whirring in the phone's background before finally asking quietly, "Why didn't you tell Neji?"

Hinata could hear Tenten's sigh, "I didn't want him to freak like this. He would never have let you leave the house if he knew where you were going." The silence that came after this statement was suffocating and the constant whirring was beginning to creep onto Hinata's nerves.

"Tenten, please make that whirring noise stop, it's getting annoying." Hinata picked absentmindedly at her cuticles as she asked Tenten through gritted teeth.

"What whirring noise? I thought it was coming from your end of the line." Tenten asked, clearly not knowing what was happening.

The thought suddenly dawned on Hinata, this phone was bugged. They were tapping her conversation. It was fairly understandable though, the contest hosts didn't need anyone leaking information to the paparazzi.

"Uh, can you hold on a second Hinata?" Hinata could hear a faint yelling noise in the background, "Hey, Hinata," Tenten came back onto the line, "Shino's here, he says he wants to talk to you about some papers, I think they're div--"

"Okay, fine, just put him on the line." Hinata snapped, the people who were tapping her phone call didn't need to know that she was still legally married.

"Geez, touchy." Tenten scoffed and must of passed on the phone because Hinata could hear muffled movements through the receiver.

"Hello? Hinata? It's Shino I just need to tell you that the divo---"

"Hey Shino," Hinata cut him off quickly, "Something's really been _bugging_ me lately, my foot keeps _tapping_." She prayed that he would understand her pathetic attempt to code her message.

He must have because he continued, "Go see a doctor, must be some nerve problem. Anyways, the papers for the suit you filed against that man who trashed your apartment, he signed the papers, though not very willingly. But you still need to sign them."

Hinata paused, this meant she was still legally married to Naruto. She spoke into the receiver again, "Huh. I'll sign when I get back home."

"But Hinata, what if you win? What if--" He stopped himself and continued on a different subject, "Yeah, sure. What are you guys doing tomorrow? You can't be cooped up in that mansion all day."

"We're going to the Aqua Pier tomorrow, I'm praying to whatever God there is out there to keep Gaara as far away as possible from the restaurant, and that's probably not going to happen because it's _Saturday._" She groaned, Saturdays were the only days that Gaara actually cooked, the days that he cooked at his main restaurant.

She suddenly sat upright in the couch, "How did you know about the contest?"

"Tenten told us." Shino said in a confused voice, what was wrong with that?

"_US_?" Hinata slumped back into the couch, "She told Kiba too? Is he okay? He hasn't totalled another car has he? That would make five this year! She didn't tell Naruto did she? Curse her and that big mouth! She promised not to--"

"Hinata." Shino cut her off, "It's fine. Kiba is still driving as recklessly as ever but he has not crashed any of his cars yet. And no. Naruto does not know."

"Good." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"So are you really going to the Aqua Pier tomorrow? Gaara invited me for lunch there also. I guess I will see you then." He said trying to steer the conversation back on course.

"What? No!" Hinata was panicking, Shino couldn't be there! "You can't come! You--" She stopped herself, Shino was giving her a chance to sign the papers. She continued on a more casual note, "Yeah, I'll see you then, thanks for getting him to sign those papers for me."

"No problem, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye." She hung up the phone and curled up against one of the pillows. Tomorrow Naruto and her would officially be finished with their three year marriage.

She sighed and tilted her head back so that she could count the dots on the ceiling, she married way too young. Marriage at twenty was so stressful and…frightening. She was so afraid that her family wouldn't accept her for the fact that she loved Naruto, and her fear had become a reality. Her father and the elder council shunned her and disowned her. She guessed that the news of Naruto and her was the straw that broke the camels back, she had already been weak and cowardly, thrown away the position of president of the Hyuuga corporation, and been the exact likeness of her mother, the traitor who ran away from her cold hearted father and left him for a lord or someone in Poland. But luckily enough, she still had Hanabi and Neji on her side, much to her father's disappointment.

She got up from the couch and stretched, might as well grab a piece of toast or something for breakfast before the other girls wake up.

It didn't find long to find the kitchen after passing several times before when she was looking for the laundry room. When she entered it and actually took the time to look at it, she realised how white$- it was, there was a gleaming white fridge in the corner, an immaculate white stove top and oven, and sets of cream coloured cupboards lined up in perfect order.

Opening a few cupboards, she finally found a box of Cheerios that looked fairly appealing. Yawning, she poured herself a bowl and munched quietly while staring blankly at the entrance that led to the kitchen. These last few days have seemed like years, she felt like she was eighty, not twenty-three.

"Ladies, will you all be so kind as to report to the foyer immediately." Kakashi's voice buzzed through the intercom, snapping Hinata out of her daze. Was it noon already?

She was the first one to arrive in the foyer, the other girls were no doubt just waking up and having showers. She looked up at Kakashi who was totally immersed in his book, then turned to watch the cameramen who hissed angrily to tell her to look away.

Slowly, the girls began to arrive in the foyer until half an hour later when Sakura was again the last one. Kakashi finally looked up from his book, "So, are we all here now?" He counted the heads and placed his book back into his breast pocket, "Good. Now, shall we?" He herded them all to the front of the mansion's patio and waited as the black limousine pulled up in front of them. The girls all piled in and sat in the back of the vehicle.

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Hinata tumbled out of the limousine with as much grace as a ballerina elephant, that had to be the most tedious, boring ride she had _ever_ been on. The whole way was gossip and bitching between the girls, and when she tried moving the sliding window to talk to Shikamaru, the girls whined that Hinata was a whore for trying to win Shikamaru's heart as well as Sasuke's.

Maybe boring wasn't exactly the word to describe the trip.

"I'm glad you girls all made it." Sasuke exited through the building's entrance in a tuxedo. Hinata began to pretend to sneeze violently to cover up her laughter, although he looked absolutely gorgeous in the tuxedo, it seemed funny to see someone wearing one in broad daylight and not attending some sort of wedding.

"Now, shall we?" He extended his arm and Hinata who happened to be closest, latched herself uncertainly onto it while trying to ignore the obvious glares and low growls coming from the rest of the girls.

They entered the large building in a large group. Hinata strained her neck to search for Shino, it shouldn't have been too hard to spot him, there were hardly any people. She strained her neck even farther to the table in the back and let out a small cry.

It was Naruto.

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**WOW!!! 100 REVIEWS!! THANK YOU!!! I'd also like to take the time to thank those lovely people who gave me Temari and Kin's last name.**

**Sorry it took so long to update, but at least I gave you two chapters last week I updated!**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	9. Hump and a Lazy Eye

**Chapter 9**

As soon as they had sat at their table, Hinata had excused herself from the contestants, Sasuke, and the cameramen to search for Shino. So far she had searched everywhere except for the small section where Naruto sat, she couldn't risk having Naruto know about any of this. But then again, she had seen neither hide nor hair of Shino, and she _definitely_ couldn't risk Kakashi or Sasuke know about the fact that she was still technically married.

It seemed there was no way to win this internal battle of hers, so she reluctantly began to walk in the direction of Naruto and his table. The entrance door to the restaurant swung open to reveal a calm and collected Shino.

She ran up to the surprised man and gripped his collar, "Where have you been?" She hissed in a panicked voice.

Shino raised an eyebrow and removed Hinata's fingers from his collar, "It's noon. You must have arrived early. Is something wrong?"

Hinata's eyes went wide, "He's here." She whispered hoarsely, "Naruto's here."

"Where?" He asked in what almost could have been panic and craned his neck to look around the restaurant, "Oh."

He quickly pulled out a file that was under his arm and a pen, "Sign where the little tags are and you will officially be divorced from your husband." Hinata stared at it blankly for a second, in a few minutes she would no longer be Hinata Uzumaki.

"Hurry up. Your host is beginning to suspect something." Shino snapped irritably motioning his hand towards Hinata's table where Sasuke had began to get out of his seat.

She snatched the papers and quickly signed all the small spaces, "Here." She looked up at him and gave a huge grin, "Thank you so much."

Shino nodded, "You'd better go now." He quickly rearranged the sheets of paper and began to walk in the direction of one of the tables.

"Where are you going?" Hinata asked, "The exit's right there." She pointed at the door where people were being ushered to their seats.

"I'm going to have lunch. I _did_ after all take a plane all the way to Los Angeles on such short notice just for you."

Hinata gave a sheepish grin, "Well, enjoy."

By the time she reached her table, Sasuke had already returned. She took her place at the furthest spot away from anybody else at the end of the table.

"That took some time, Hyuuga." Sasuke raised his eyebrow suspiciously.

"Bad chicken." She shrugged and took a helping of the salmon that was in front of her.

"We haven't _had_ any chicken."

She gave him a grin and cut off a slice of salmon. Gaara sure knew the difference between garbage and gourmet.

The rest of the meal went well, small talk and questions such as "Where you from?", "Do you prefer Hawaii or Paris better?" or "Do you have any siblings?" were exchanged. On occasion, Hinata would take a quick look behind her shoulder to check if Naruto was still there, the man just didn't seem to stop eating!

"Excuse me, I have to go freshen up." Hinata gave a polite smile to everyone and headed towards the bathroom. Inside the bathrooms were several marble sinks and a long mirror that stretched from one side of the bathroom to the other. She strode over to one of the sink and splashed some water onto her face. She was surprised that she hadn't had a heart attack from all the stress weighing down on her shoulders.

She took a breath and walked out of the washrooms straight into the chest of Naruto.

"Hn?" Naruto looked down and gave a sharp inhale, "Hinata!"

Hinata quickly untangled herself from her ex-husband, "I, um, hi Naruto." She tried to swerve around him but he grabbed hold on her shoulder.

"Why are you here in Los Angeles?" Hinata struggled, but his iron grip was as firm as ever.

"C-conference. Now p-please, _let go_." He reluctantly loosened his grip and followed her as she walked over to her table.

"Stop following me Naruto!" She whipped around and hissed at him, why was he so damn overprotective?

"I just want to have lunch with you! Just to clear up any hard feelings that might be between us!" He whined making Hinata want to strangle him.

"_Might_?" She shrieked and quickly clamped her hand to her mouth, hoping the ever present cameramen did not hear. Too late.

They quickly swarmed around the two, trying to pick up what dialog they didn't get before. Naruto looked around at the camera's in alarm, "What's happening? Am I being punk'd or something?"

Hinata buried her face into her hands and shook her head, "I wish. I wish."

"What's going on?" Sasuke pushed his way past the cameramen, "Hyuuga? What's--" He looked up and upon seeing Naruto gave what sounded like a low growl, "Uzumaki."

Naruto's eyes turned to slits, "Uchiha."

Hinata looked back and forth between the two bristling men, "You two know each other?"

Naruto gave a grunt, "We met at a photo shoot for GQ the year before I met you. He found me making out with the photographer's girlfriend and being the little goody-goody two shoes he is, he told him. The photographer kicked me off the set and wouldn't let me near any other shoots for major magazines. He finally retired early and I finally was able to start modelling again."

By now, the rest of the contestants had crowded around to watch the drama unfold between the Hyuuga, Uchiha, and Uzumaki.

"Okay…" Hinata narrowed her eyes, even though she had broken up with Naruto and even though he claimed that it was a year before they had met, she still had the urge to slap him across the face for making out with some other woman, "Then what do _you_ have against him, Uchiha?"

"None of your business." He snarled at her. Hinata was a bit taken a back but said nothing.

"Wait. You married _her_?" Sakura cut in and pointed incredulously at Hinata, "_She's_ the nobody the tabloids kept saying you married?"

"No need to take it out Hinata just because I was the first guy to never call you back after one night together." Naruto pouted and watched the different colours of fury creep onto Sakura's beautiful face.

"_What?_" Naruto looked down at Hinata as if he had forgotten she was there the whole time, "Why do you always have the compulsion to stick your tongue down the throat of the first female that you lay your eyes on?" She shook with rage and finally did the one thing that was never expected of the little Hinata.

She slapped Naruto.

Her eyes were glistening with tears as she ran out the doors of the restaurant and out into the streets that seemed far too sunny for this horrible day. She ran down the streets as fast as she could and finally just collapsed against the brick wall of an alleyway.

She just sat there and let the tears fall down her seemingly impassive face. She wanted the comfort of Kiba and Tenten right now. She buried her head into her arms and let out an unsteady sigh.

"Hinata?"

"G-go away. I h-hate you." Her head was buried in her arms still, she didn't want to see or hear Naruto. She felt like a ostrich with it's head stuck in the sand.

Her arms were gently pried away from her face and she was forced to look into the shadowy eyes of the young Uchiha heir.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to her, his soft breath blowing lightly against her full lips.

"For what?" Hinata asked, why was Sasuke here? And why weren't the cameramen following their every move?

"For doing whatever made you hate me." His face was do dead serious that Hinata couldn't help but smile.

"Well, it's not your fault that you have a large hump on your back and a lazy eye." She joked and absentmindedly wiped a small splotch of sauce off of Sasuke's face, not realizing how close her fingers were to his lips.

He frowned, "I'm rather sensitive about my hump you know." Hinata chuckled and felt her head droop, she was so tired. Sasuke sighed and ruffled her hair playfully, "Should I take you back to the mansion?"

"Would that mess up Kakashi's schedule too much?" She asked, sinking her head into the palm of her hand.

Sasuke snorted, "I think they owe you it after all that reality drama you just gave them in there." He took her hand and helped her to her feet. She groaned and removed her shoes, she could feel the thousands of blisters that were forming on her feet.

"Here, lean on me." He wrapped an arm around her waist to make it easier for her to limp to the limo.

She let her head fall onto his shoulder and murmured into his chest, "Thank you."

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When Hinata woke up, she was in her bed again with aching toes. She threw back the sheets, what time was it? 1:37 p.m. her alarm clock read. The other contestants were still back at the Aqua Pier eating.

She slipped on a pair of fluffy blue slippers and hobbled over to the telephone room, she needed to talk to Tenten again.

The phone rang twice before Tenten finally picked up, "Hello?"

"Tenten!"

"Huh? Hinata? Is that you?" Tenten asked.

"Yes! There's so much I've got to tell you, so much has happened." Hinata told her whole encounter in between hiccups and sobs to Tenten who sat quietly and said nothing until Hinata was finished.

"Hinata, I'm so sorry." Tenten said in a quiet voice, "I'm so sorry for forcing you to enter."

"I-I forgive you." Hinata wiped her nose with the back of her hand, "I think the worst thing about this whole thing is that Sakura found out I was married to Naruto."

"Wait, wait, wait, _wait. Sakura_'s there? You failed to mention that tiny detail." Tenten growled into the phone, she would never$- forget how cruel Sakura had been to Hinata during high school.

"Yeah." Hinata sighed miserably into the phone, "Life here certainly isn't any picnic."

"Aw, Hinata, you're making me feel even worse. I might have to come send Neji down to whisk you back home."

Hinata gave a small laugh, "I'll be fine, I'm _not_ losing to Sakura again. Even if it means I have to marry Uchiha."

Tenten mocked a gasp of horror, "_No_. Marry Sasuke Uchiha? The horror!"

"He's…not that bad surprisingly. He can act like he has a stick shoved up his, erm…ass, but he has his redeeming moments." Hinata was amazed to hear those words come out of her mouth. Uchiha corporation _definitely_ put love potions into their products.

"You're too kind Hinata, just be confident and you can kick any of these size zero girls' asses." Tenten said in attempt to be comforting.

The door to the room swung open to reveal Shikamaru leaning against the doorjamb. He waved his hand, "Come on, we have to go!"

"Just a second Tenten." Hinata covered the speaker of the phone with her hand and turned to Shikamaru who stared back with an annoyed expression, "Go where?"

Shikamaru sighed and crossed his arms, "To the photo shoot of course."

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**UGH. TOO MUCH DRAMA. I didn't plan on making Naruto so bad, I swear! But I kind of had to if I planned on putting any SasuHina fluff in there at all.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	10. Photo Shoot

**Chapter 10**

The lights were blinding, Hinata had to blink several times to adjust her eyes. How did she ever get into _modelling_? Right. Shikamaru dragged her away from her conversation with Tenten, pushed her into the limo and kidnapped her to this studio, she was then stripped of her clothing by tall women with fuzzy navels, squeezed into a tiny coral pink dress that just covered her butt and breasts and had a suffocating amount of makeup slapped onto her.

"Alright! Everybody on set!" The photographer yelled and herded everyone away from the long table that held carrot sticks, celery, broccoli and various other rabbit food items.

The set was a large Victorian room that looked almost exactly like the one Hinata had been residing in at the moment. Sasuke sat in a large cushy chair while the other contestants draped themselves over his limbs and neck.

"Well honey? Come on, I don't have all day to do this!" The photographer snapped irritably at Hinata.

"Oh!" Hinata gave an uncomfortable smile, "I-I don't know what to do…"

"You model. Like this." The obviously gay photographer struck a slinky pose and grinned when the other contestants and the makeup crew applauded.

"Well, I've never modeled before, and again, I don't really know what to do." She pleaded softly, the other contestants were giggling to each other and Hinata wanted to die on the spot.

"Honey, you'll do fine, just think _sex_." The photographer pushed her onto the set, "Remember, _sex_."

"W-what?" Hinata blushed a furious scarlet and slowly made her way to Sasuke with the worst case of butterflies she had ever encountered.

"Don't tell me you're _still_ a virgin, Hinata." Sakura smirked, "Even though you were married to _Naruto?_"

"No." Hinata murmured quietly, her face was going to explode soon. She sat on Sasuke's lap because there was no other room for her near him unless she wanted to wear the lampshade over her head and pretend she was a lamp (which she would have gladly done if it weren't for the whining photographer).

"Okay girls, work it!" The photographer disappeared behind his camera and began to snap away.

Hinata felt Sasuke's hand slowly snake around her waist to pull her closer. She gasped sat up straight immediately.

"You!" The photographer stopped the shots and pointed at Hinata, "Stop acting all hoity toity, you're with _Sasuke Uchiha_ for god sake, why are you so uptight?" He sighed in exasperation, "I need five minutes!" He stormed off the set and slammed a door behind him making Hinata cringe.

"Great job Hinata." Sakura hissed at her once Sasuke walked away.

Hinata sank into the chair and pulled herself into a ball, this sucked. Not only was Sakura in her element, but Hinata felt uglier and worse that ever.

"Hey." Hinata peeked her head up from behind her arms and looked up at Sasuke who stood in front of her with a nonchalant expression and his hands in his pockets.

"Hey yourself." Hinata mumbled and rested her head on top of her arms.

"Don't feel too upset, Jean can be a bit of a drama queen." Sasuke said referring to the gay photographer.

"Why?" Hinata asked slightly amazed.

Sasuke gave her a confused look, "I don't know, it might be because he's gay, but--"

"No," Hinata cut him off impatiently, "Why are you here? Why are you trying to make me feel better? Don't you hate me?"

"I--"

"Okay, let's try this again!" Jean burst back through the doors with another young man that was latched onto his arm that had a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Hinata got up from her comfortable sanctuary and sat on Sasuke's lap again. Jean got behind the camera once more, "Okay, let's see if we can do this this time."

Hinata grew stiff, she wanted to die, how would she ever beat Sakura now? What had Tenten said? Something about kicking size zero girls' asses and... right, confidence.

Confidence.

It would have been easier if they had just asked her to wrangle seven alligators with one hand tied behind her back. She shook her head, she had to be _confident_, so confident she would be.

Tentatively, she wrapped an arm around Sasuke's neck, entangled her other fingers in his soft hair and gave a sultry smile to the camera.

"Yes! Yes! Perfect, just work the legs a bit more!" Jean laughed and clicked away with his camera as Hinata turned herself so that her hips were glued to Sasuke's.

Fifteen minutes later Jean stopped and Hinata quickly untangled herself from Sasuke, she felt so indecent, Neji was going to _kill_ her once he saw this. She plopped back down into the chair and sighed.

"Darling, that was simply _gorgeous_." Hinata looked up to see Jean's handsome face beaming down at her, "Why have you never modeled? You have that_ perfect_ body, not like those silly twigs that have no breasts, _you_ have potential."

Hinata smiled, "Thanks, but I don't think I could survive the glamorous life of a model. But I appreciate it." She laughed shyly.

"Aw, your so sweet." He laughed and walked away to talk with the man he had dragged in earlier.

"Sweet?" Sasuke had walked up behind Hinata with a can of beer in his hand, and a raised eyebrow, "Even after that little display of modeling you bestowed on us?"

Hinata turned brick red, "I didn't see you doing much, you just sat there as girls groped you." She said in attempt to swerve the conversation away from her.

"As _girls_, you're including yourself, right?" He took a sip of his beer and peered down at the interesting colours her face was turning.

"Sasuke! Will you come help me?" Sakura called from across the room as she 'desperately' tried to unzip the back of her dress.

Sasuke nodded and set the can of beer down next to Hinata. Figured that Sakura would try to divert the attention from Hinata, she had managed to do that through the whole of their high school years.

Once Sasuke had finished unzipped Sakura's dress (and stared at her perfect back for a second, much to Sakura's delight), he called out to the rest of the contestants, "We will be heading back to the mansion soon, but I'd like to tell you all this was all a challenge to see who looks the best under a camera because my wife must be able to look good under the paparazzi that will be surrounding me and my family."

Hinata wanted to throw up her celery and carrot sticks that she had shoved down her throat before the shoot. 'Has to look good under the camera'? How could this man be the same one that helped after lunch and also be so shallow at the same time?

"Yes!" Jean seemed to be exploding from the seams with giddiness, "I have the photo right here!" The girls gave small yelps of delight and crowded around the two men.

"What do we win?" Kin asked, flinging her long dark her behind her.

"What else?" Jean asked, "Quality time with this hunk right here!" He giggled and wrapped an arm around Sasuke's shoulder.

"_Thank_ you, Jean." Sasuke gritted through his smiling teeth and removed Jean's arm.

"Oops, gave it away didn't I? Sorry!" He laughed uncertainly and shuffled the papers, "Can I say it now?"

Sasuke sighed, "Go ahead, Jean."

Jean cleared his throat, "And the winner of the challenge is…" He held out his sentence to produce a dramatic, if not annoying, pause, "Haku Kokubo!"

Haku gave a girlish squeal and jumped into the arms of Sasuke, "Take me away my handsome prince!"

Sasuke laughed uncomfortably and slowly pried Haku's strong grip off of him. Haku seemed unperturbed, "So where are we going?"

"Sailing in my boat."

Haku let out another girlish squeal, "Sounds romantic."

The other girls grumbled jealously as Hinata let out a sigh of relief, had she won the challenge, she would have thrown up all over Sasuke due to sea sickness.

Sasuke held Haku's hand and gave the rest of the girls a smile, "I'll see the rest of you tonight. If you would all be so kind as to head to the limo, Shikamaru will gladly take you home." Shikamaru waved languidly and then shoved it back into the pocket.

Hinata walked quickly over to Shikamaru and sneaked a peek at the photos. Oh, Neji would _definitely_ kill her.

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**It's too shooooort! I couldn't find anything else to fit in this particular chapter, but at least I put up two chapters again, yay!**

**People have been mentioning that I've dosed Hinata with a bit too much unlikeness, to Masashi Kishimoto's character, so I tried to change her back a bit more in this chapter.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	11. Soap

**Chapter 11**

She picked up her teacup and took a small sip, glancing up through her eyelashes to the man in front of her. His face was shadowed and she could only make out his lean silhouette.

"Would you care for more tea?" He asked her in a husky voice. She nodded politely and stuck out her teacup for him to pour the steaming tea. Smiling, she took another small sip, this man was very nice, he before he had even held out her chair for her to sit down in. She decided she liked him well enough.

"Paul, would you be so kind as to pass the sugar?" Paul seemed like the perfect name for him, so much so she made herself believe it was actually his.

He did so without a word and then when the silence became so thick you could spread it on toast, he asked her, "Don't you wish to know my name?"

"Oh, I already know it, it's Paul." She opened the packet and spilt it all over her dress, "Drat, bad luck. Or is it salt that's bad luck, Paul?"

Strangely enough, she could actually hear him smile, "More tea?"

She looked down into her suddenly empty teacup, "Yes please." She held the cup out again and let him pour the tea, except, he didn't pour the tea into her cup, he poured it across her bare arm.

She shrieked and held the burning flesh against her chest. Quickly, he gripped her wrist tightly and came into the light. "I'm sorry, you _have_ to forgive me, I had to do that. Please, do you know me now?" He looked up into her eyes pleadingly. She thrashed in his grasp and finally took one more look into his imploring eyes, she knew those eyes, didn't she? His grip tightened considerably and she screamed again in pain.

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Hinata jolted up in her bed, panting and sweating as if she just finished running miles and miles, not sleeping deeply. She shivered and ran her fingers across her pale arm. That dream, it seemed so real, the pain seemed so excruciating.

She pulled her legs over the bed so they were dangling, why were those eyes so familiar? She got out of bed and meandered over to the washroom in a trance-like state to splash her face with cold water.

Looking up into the mirror she traced the dark bags under her eyes. Although she had been getting plentiful sleep, they were fitful deep sleeps full of nonsensical nightmares like the one she had experienced not moments before.

She left her bedroom to wander around the house for several minutes to calm herself down. The mansion was so vast and huge that whenever Hinata decided to go for a small walk, she always found newer, more exciting rooms. She had even created her own little game to see how many 'hidden' rooms she could find, so far, she had managed to find six including her own.

She hadn't wandered far until she heard the front door to the mansion slam open loudly. Hinata ran to the foyer, Haku and Sasuke shouldn't have been back so quickly, it had only been an hour.

"I'm so sorry! Please, I'll do anything to make up for it." Haku's pleading voice rang through the empty foyer.

"I said don't worry about it." Hinata could tell that Sasuke was making an effort to control his temper and voice by the way he dragged out his sentence and gritted his teeth.

Finally Hinata rounded the corner to see Sasuke and Haku absolutely drenched head to toe. Haku was clinging to Sasuke's arm pleading and apologizing pathetically while Sasuke tried to pry her off of him.

"What happened?" Hinata slowed to a leisurely stroll and stopped when she arrived in front of them.

A mixture of, "None of your business." and "Why don't you ask her?" came out in a jumbled mess between the two dripping people.

Haku scowled, "I didn't mean to! We had gotten out onto the boat and I had climbed onto the rail so I could see the fish better and suddenly Sasuke comes yelling at me and startles me and I start to lose my balance, so I grab onto him and he fell into the water with me!"

"I had told you before not climb onto the rail!" Sasuke yelled at her making her cower.

Hinata sighed, "You guys wait a minute, I'll go get some towels." She quickly trotted off to her washroom and snatched two towels, snickering at the sight of Sasuke looking like a wet cat would.

She headed back to the two and held out the two towels for them to snatch from her hands. Sasuke quickly dried off his hair, "I'm having a shower, excuse me Ms. Hyuuga, _Haku_."

Haku looked at the floor in shame and Hinata's heart went out to her, this girl actually _wanted_ this selfish jerk, she was working hard for him, "Here, you can use my shower, it's closest." Hinata offered gently.

Haku nodded miserably and let Hinata take her hand and lead her to Hinata's bedroom. Haku took a look around at her surroundings and brightened up considerably, "This is your room? It's so much prettier than mine! Mine is a gross maroon colour." She made a face and Hinata gave a small laugh, grateful that the cameramen weren't there to spoil this rare, carefree moment.

"The washroom's right here." Hinata gestured her hand to the other door beside her writing desk.

Haku smiled at Hinata, "You're really nice, do you think we could be friends for this contest? The other girls are so _bitchy_."

Hinata felt like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders, "I'd really like that." She smiled and let Haku grab the towel again and run into the bathroom.

Hinata lied back down against her pillows and picked up a magazine she had found laying about the house. Rumours about Jennifer and Brad getting back together, another shocking Paris Hilton scandal, Ashley Simpson's fake nose, blah blah blah… She threw away the magazine to the other side of the room, who cares about this idiotic gossip?

Sighing, she went over to pick up the magazine, it wasn't hers to destroy. She picked it up and noticed a bar of soap poking out from underneath it. She snatched it up, this meant that Haku was showering without soap.

She walked over to the washroom and knocked on the door, "Haku?" There was no answer. Hinata didn't think she would have heard it anyways while the shower was on. She clutched the door handle, would this be intruding? This was her bathroom after all, and Haku was a girl, so it didn't matter really.

She opened the door and felt suffocated in the muggy air. She called out, "Haku?" There was still no answer other than Haku's faint musical humming.

The shower turned off and Haku called out, "Hinata? Do you have any soap?" The shower curtain swung open to reveal an oddly flat chest. Hinata's eyes happened to flicker downwards for half a second and…

Oh my.

Hinata shrieked so shrilly that it was probably heard all the way up in Canada and sprinted out of the room into the echoing foyer with a flaming face until she ran right into Sasuke's chest.

"What?" Sasuke looked down at her in annoyance, "Why is it that your face always manages to magnetize to my chest?"

Hinata didn't even bother getting flustered with that rhetorical question, instead, she waved her arms about hysterically, "H-Haku, she--no, _he_…sh-shower, I--I…soap?"

When she began to hyperventilate and turn an even deeper shade of maroon, Sasuke took hold of her shoulders, "Stay here. I'll go see what's going on, okay?"

Hinata bit her lip and held her breath for a second, "Y-yes." Once Sasuke had left with a herd of cameramen pursuing him, Hinata let out her breath that she was holding in and crouched on the floor placing her head in between her knees. Taking deep breaths, she sorted through her thoughts. Okay, Haku and Sasuke went sailing, they both came back soaking, Hinata lent Haku her shower, Haku forgot soap, Hinata gave Haku soap and…Hinata gave a whimper at her last trailing thought.

Several minutes later, Sasuke emerged from the room alone with a deathly pale face. Slowly, he walked over to Hinata's crouching figure and crouched next to her not saying a word. After a long silence, Hinata asked whisper that was only heard between the two, "So…did you kiss her--I mean him?"

Sasuke's head slowly lifted and revealed a terrified expression, "No." He whispered back hoarsely and brought his fingers to his lips, imagining the horror of kissing a man.

"Uchiha," Hinata looked up at Sasuke, "Please don't tell the other girls, Haku's a nice person, she--er…_he_ doesn't deserve the ridicule he'll receive if they find out."

"I'm not going to tell them and ruin my reputation!" He hissed at her, "They'll have to find out the old fashion way, the tabloids and TV." Hinata looked up miserably into Sasuke's eyes, she had hoped that they wouldn't even mention that Haku had been a man at all.

Sasuke stood up, "I've got to go see Kakashi about damage control, I'll see you tomorrow." Hinata nodded and stayed in her crouching position for a long time and thought about how horrible she felt for ratting out Haku.

Rattles and bangs could be heard coming down the stairs. Hinata looked up from her arms and saw Haku charging down the stairs with a heavy looking suitcase, he charged right past her, not even acknowledging her presence.

"Wait, Haku." Hinata called out pleadingly. Haku stopped in his tracks but said nothing, so Hinata took a deep breath and continued, "I'm so sorry, I didn't want you to go, I swear, I--I…I'm sorry."

Haku finally turned around and stared down Hinata with a forceful glare, but suddenly relaxed his face, "I know. You're a good person, Hinata. I'm not mad at you." Haku sighed and ran his hand through his long hair, "I had just broken up with my boyfriend, I felt like total shit, so I decided to enter this contest just for the heck of it. When I found out I had been entered, I started dishing out more and more facts about Sasuke until I felt like I really loved him."

Hinata got up from her little ball and walked over to Haku, "I wish you could've stayed longer, I miss having a friend around."

She wrapped her arms around Haku into a tight hug, Haku grinned and patted her back, "Aw, you're making me feel bad, cheer up. I probably wouldn't lasted very long here anyway, what with all these thoughts of _Jean_ passing through my head every five seconds."

He growled playfully and Hinata laughed, "Go get him tiger." She took a step back from Haku for a moment, "I wish you didn't have to go."

"I know, I know, me too honey." Haku ruffled her hair, "But since you did rat me out, I'd like you to do one favour for me…" Haku trailed off for a moment and smiled mischievously, "Kick those girls' asses."

"You sound just like Tenten." Hinata laughed and gave Haku one last wave before he walked out the large doors of the house.

Hinata watched through the window as Shikamaru opened the door for Haku and then sped off down the street at amazing speeds. She closed the curtain, no time to be sulking, she had a promise to fulfil, better put on her best observation skills and analyze Sakura's every move. If you're going to learn to flirt, it's best to learn from the best, right?

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**WOW. Eleven chapters already, it feels like it's only six or something! People have been saying chapters have been getting shorter and shorter, and THEY'RE RIGHT! For that, I apologize!**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	12. Tickle

**Chapter 12**

The next few days passed by uneventfully, Sasuke would occasionally stay for dinner, in which case the girls would revert from bitch to beauty. Hinata had been carefully studying Sakura at these dinners intensely, but found no answers to the questions she had been asking.

Sakura was drop dead gorgeous and she used that to her full advantage. She didn't have to work hard for men, they fell at her feet in submission. She would 'accidentally' brush her breast against his hand or arm, or would pretend to tell him something funny and graze her lips over his ear. Whenever Hinata got close enough to Sasuke to do any of these, she would chicken out at the last minute and back off suddenly.

"So, are we doing anything, _exciting_ soon?" Sakura leaned closer to Sasuke until she was a hair's width from his face and looked up at him through her long, dark eyelashes.

He gave her a charming smile, "Maybe, it depends on how well you ladies behave." Sakura laughed and pushed his arm playfully, purring "You are too much."

Hinata almost snorted up her lentil soup, but thought better about it. Maybe Sakura wasn't actually all looks, she was also brimming with pride that was disguised in such a way that it seemed poised and dignified.

As she pondered about the essence that made Sakura the proud, greedy, conniving beauty she was, Sasuke stood up from his seat at the front of the table and raised his glass in a toast, "Ladies, I'd like to toast to all of you here, you've been lovely company." The girls raised their glasses to him and nodded appreciatively.

Sasuke cleared his throat after having a sip of his wine, "But I regret having to inform you, tomorrow night one of you will be leaving my house." The girls looked around at each other in confusion, why was another girl heading home in the same week? Didn't Haku already have to leave the mansion?

Temari was the first one to speak through the panic and confusion, "But Sasuke, didn't you already make Haku leave?" Her voice was clear and authoritative, Hinata acknowledged and appreciated Temari's fine leadership skills that made her the editor-in-chief of a world renown magazine such as the National$- Foods$-.

Sasuke gave her a ghost of a smile, "Haku left on _her_ own accord, _she_ had a deathly sick relative _she_ insisted on visiting, so I let _her_ leave." He grimaced at the thought of Haku and took another swig of his wine, "Although _she_ left, I do plan on finishing this contest, even if it means it will be over sooner."

Hinata narrowed her eyes, this man just kept spinning a web of lies, if he didn't watch out he was going to get caught in it. And he was on the verge of breaking his promise to her with emphasizing all the _hers_ and _shes_ in his sentences, the other girls had definitely also caught onto the not-so-subtle nuances in the way he said it.

Sasuke cleared his throat and successfully captured his guests full attention, "But for now, let's drink." The girls cheered and took large gulps from their glasses .

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Hinata watched in half amusement and half horror from the other side of the table as the other girls danced around (occasionally slipping in their drunkenness) Sasuke who was laughing and clapping his hands to the beat while the girls warbled loudly, 'Dancing Queen'.

"Haaaviiing the time of your liiiiife!" Temari sang loudly, her voice cracking. Kin laughed and threw her arm around the blond woman, giving Hinata a pang of sadness and jealousy in her gut.

"Seeee that giiiiiirl, waaatch that scene, dig in the daaaaaaaancing queeeeen!" They all chorused together and fell onto Sasuke in a big heap, giggling and chortling as if sharing a big inside joke.

Sakura righted herself up and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's strong shoulders, "Mmm, honey, you're so hot." Hinata guessed Sakura was trying to kiss his lips when all that she got was his nose. Sakura sniggered and finally managed to press her full lips against Sasuke's surprised ones.

Hinata suddenly found the rim of her full wine glass quite fascinating, why did watching Sakura kiss Sasuke create an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach? She gently traced the rim and thought about it. It wasn't jealousy over Sasuke because whenever he planted kisses on the other girls, she felt just as indifferent about it as she would if he said to them, "I have blue jeans on". Maybe it was because Sakura had the courage to do this, the courage to show her emotions. Or maybe because whenever she saw Sakura kiss Sasuke, she always managed to imagine he was Naruto.

A fit of giggles made Hinata jerk her head up to watch a tickle fight being formed between the contestants and host.

"S-stop!" Ino giggled and clutched her sides as if they were going to burst, "I give up!" She rolled over to the side and sat with her legs crossed next to the tumbling bodies and limbs.

"Anyone else?" Sasuke asked mischievously. Hinata sighed and placed her head into the palm of her resting hand, his words were beginning to get more and more slurred to the point it was almost impossible to understand.

Kin and Temari also decided to roll off to the side too, but Sakura pumped her fist into the air and issued a battle cry, "Never!"

Their little battle lasted a good three and a half minutes before they both ran out of breath and Sakura wheezed, "I--I give up."

Sasuke gave a triumphant smirk before turning to Hinata's quiet figure, "How about you? You gonna challenge me?" Hinata looked up in surprise and shook her head. Sasuke cocked his head to the side and taunted, "What? You scared?"

Sakura rested her head on his arm, "Don't bother her, she's such a wet towel." She poked him in the stomach, sending her on another round of shrill giggles.

Hinata's cheeks burned, once again, Sakura had managed to make a fool out of her and she absolutely hated her for it. She abruptly shot out of her chair making everyone in the room turn towards her. She took a deep breath, "Fine. You're on."

Sasuke grinned and Sakura sulked. Good, in your face, bitch. Hinata thought feeling absolutely elated at seeing Sakura lose all of Sasuke's coveted attention.

She pulled up the imaginary sleeves on her arms, "You ready to beg for mercy, Uchiha?" She taunted him back and lowered herself down to Sasuke's level on the floor.

"Hell no." He grinned and leapt at Hinata, causing her to tumble onto her back in surprise. He attacked her ribs and tickled her until tears began to form in her eyes. She finally regained control of her arms and retaliated at his stomach. He laughed and clawed at her fingers in a futile attempt to stop with her merciless tickling.

After several long, excruciating minutes of ruthless tickling, Sasuke rolled off of Hinata and onto the cool marble floor, his chest heaving, "I g-give up." He said breathlessly and gave Hinata a hazy look .

Hinata clutched her stomach and crawled up onto her knees, "G-good. B-because I'm going to bed now." A murmur of agreement passed through the rest of the contestants, and within minutes, the whole foyer was clear of everyone except Sasuke, who was still lying still as stone in the centre of the foyer, and Hinata, who was attempting to crawl back to her bedroom. Even the cameramen were gone.

Hinata looked back at Sasuke's still form, reluctantly got up from her knees and walked over to Sasuke to bend over him, "Are you awake?" One eye peeked open at her in response, "Do you need help up?" She offered her hand to which he took hold of and hoisted himself up onto his feet.

He suddenly fell limp against her body, causing her to take several steps back in surprise. His weight was beginning to make Hinata's knees buckle, so she whispered urgently, "Uchiha? Come on, get up! You don't want me to have to leave you on the floor tonight do you?"

Sasuke mumbled something into Hinata's hair making Hinata sigh in exasperation, "I can't hear you."

He squirmed and righted himself enough so that she could hear him, "You smell good." He nuzzled her jaw line and put a hand on the small of her back. She stumbled back in shock, why was he doing this? She kept stepping back until the two of them collided into the wall. Sasuke took full advantage of this and crushed his lips against hers, he tasted and smelled like the liquor he had continued to drink earlier on in the night.

Hinata struggled making Sasuke only press harder against her. He finally gave up on her lips and began to kiss her jaw line, her neck, her collar bone, and hesitated just before he reached her breasts. She looked down at him, her eyes wide with fear, this drunk Sasuke frightened her, his grip was so powerful and his forwardness was so forceful.

He looked up at her and removed is head from her collar bone to bury it in the crook of her neck. He murmured against her throat sending vibrations through her neck and chest, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't hate me, please." He sounded like a child begging forgiveness for throwing a tantrum at his mother. He looked back up at her with pleading eyes, "Please." He buried his head back into her neck, clutched at the hand that had been struggling against him and placed it onto his feverish cheek.

Hinata was torn, she wasn't sure to hate and fear him or abide by his wishes and forgive him. She took a ragged breath, this wasn't Sasuke, not really. This was a drunk, almost unconscious man who had no idea what he was talking about. She brushed away a hair that was dangling down the side of Sasuke's face and whispered, "Come on, Uchiha, go to bed. You're sick, you need sleep."

Soft snores were the only reply she received. Great. Not only did she not know where his room was, she didn't know where anyone else was that knew. She didn't want to have him sleep in her room and have gossip fly between the other girls about her, but she didn't want to leave him sick like this on the foyer floor.

She reluctantly heaved one of his arms over her shoulders and dragged him over to her room and kicked open the door with her heel. Where would she put him? There wasn't any other place to put him other than the bed considering her room was probably the only room in the house that didn't have a sofa. Grudgingly, she placed him on the other side of the bed before heading over to her side of the bed as far away from him as possible and pulling another blanket over her to separate them.

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Hinata blinked back the light that was streaming through the windows and into her eyes. Ugh, what time was it? She attempted to reach for her alarm clock but was restrained by something across her stomach. She looked down. An arm.

Slowly, she turned around in horror to see Sasuke with his face inches from her face, his soft breathing tickling her ear, and one arm draped across her midsection, the other entangled in her hair. She stayed there, frozen, for several seconds. Should she wake him? Or should she try to slip away and let him ponder about why he was in some foreign bed?

She decided on the first and gently pushed his shoulder, "Uchiha, wake up." He stirred, but swatted her hand away like it was an annoying bug. Growing irritated, she shoved harder and yelled into his ear, "_Wake_ _up_!"

"God dammit!" His eyes immediately blinked open to reveal a pair of raging orbs, "What the hell was that for, Hyuuga?" He paused long enough to soak in his environment, "Hyuuga?" He jerked up the blanket to check if they had clothes on. He gave a relieved sigh, then turned back to her, "Why the hell am I in your room? Weren't you the one who asked me if I was afraid of girls molesting me? Well, the answer is yes!"

Hinata's face would've been a deep purple colour, purely out of embarrassment had she not felt so indignant. _He_ was the one who almost molested her last night, "I sure as hell did _not_ molest you. You even checked, we both have clothes on. And I'm not the one with the arm around my stomach either!" He cringed at her volume and quickly removed his arm, "I brought you in here because you passed out last night in the foyer, you drunk"

He put his hands up to protect his ears and curled deeper into the comforter, "That would explain the killer hangover." Hinata almost sighed with relief, he didn't remember a thing about last night. She rolled over to face Sasuke and closed her eyes, "Good night, or morning, or whatever time it is, I'm going back to sleep."

She was surprised that he didn't yell back at her to wake up, she was even more surprised when she opened her eyes to find Sasuke with his eyes closed too. "Aren't you going back to your room?"

He slowly opened his eyes and shook his head, "Nope. It hurts too much to move and I'm comfortable here, thank you very much." He whispered the last six words so quietly Hinata just barely caught them.

She gave a small grin, "Well, if you decide you have to throw up, you'd better make it to the washroom."


	13. Temari

**Chapter 13**

She screamed again in agony and felt the tears prick in the corners of her eyes. He looked at her with his deep, brooding eyes and gently held out his hand to hold onto her scorched wrist, "Please forgive me."

She swatted his hand away and attempted to scratch his hands and face with her free hand, screaming and sobbing, "_No_! Stop it! Stop!"

He finally managed to grab hold of her arm again and murmured lowly, "Wake up. Wake up, Hinata." She looked at his face again quizzically, his expression was quickly changing from apologetic to pleading, "_Wake up_!"

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She screamed again and struggled against the restraints that were holding her wrists and body down. She peaked an eye open to see Sasuke's panicked face staring back down from above her. She whispered, "U-Uchiha? What are you doing?"

He slowly began to loosen his grip on her wrists, testing to see if she would fight back, "You were screaming, I tried to wake you up but you kept screaming and scratching me, so I had to…" He trailed off and quickly rolled off from over top of her. Hinata swore that she saw his face turn a light pink.

"Sorry." She quickly snatched her arm away from him and rubbed her wrists, even though they had no sign of a burn, they were still warm from Sasuke's firm grip. She rolled over to her other side and groped for her alarm clock. 9:13.

She rolled back over to face Sasuke, "You feeling better?" He nodded in response and let his head drift back to the pillow, looking serene and relaxed. Hinata almost felt bad for getting out of bed and ripping the blanket off of him, "Well, it's time to get up."

He groaned and felt around to pull the comforter back over his head. With an exasperated sigh Hinata slowly crawled over to him and breathed seductively into his ear, "Come on, Uchiha, I'll make it worth your while."

He raised his eyebrow but made no effort to move in the slightest bit, "Oh? How?" Hinata just smiled mischievously and he shifted slightly to rest on his elbows before slowly sitting up on the edge of the bed, "Okay. Shoot." She pulled him up by his collar, making him obediently follow her as she walked backwards. Once she felt her back hit the door, she flipped them around and pushed him out of her room, slamming the door behind her.

"Hey! You said you'd make it worth my while!" He banged on the door, "I was comfortable in there!"

"I lied." She yelled back at him through the thick door and waited several minutes before she finally heard him storm off in the direction of the stairs and stomped extra hard as he walked up the stairs that winded up just above her room. That man seemed well mannered enough, but when confronted with some sort of problem, he threw a vicious tantrum.

She threw off her dress and pulled on a pair of shorts and baggy t-shirt that read, "Aqua Pier" in tall, loopy cursive letters. She had done absolutely no exercise throughout this whole competition _and_ she had been stuffing her face with gourmet food like there was no tomorrow. It was a good thing she had such a high metabolism.

Rummaging through her suitcase, she managed to find the pair of Nike running shoes she had snuck into the suitcase at the last minute without Tenten's consent. She haphazardly piled her thick hair into a ponytail on top of her head and exited the room.

She meandered about, wishing that Sasuke had provided them with some sort of map, navigating through this house without one was virtually impossible. After literally an hour of searching for a gym and only finding curious looking rooms such as ones labelled, 'BLUE ROOM' or 'CHOCOLATE', she eventually found herself in the kitchen. She shrugged, might as well eat some breakfast, she could count that walk around the house as her exercise.

As she was reaching for the box of cereal that happened to be inconveniently placed at the highest shelf in the cupboard, she heard the sliding door that led into the kitchen slam open. She turned around and saw Temari rubbing her eyes and blotched face.

"What happened?" Hinata immediately dropped her hand from the cereal box that she had successfully been able to graze her fingers across and walked over to the distraught Temari to place a hand on her shoulder

"Don't touch me." She hissed and flung her arm back as if she had been electrocuted. Hinata inwardly screamed, what was with this girl? She hadn't done anything!

Temari reached up to easily grab the box Hinata had been struggling to reach and drained all of the contents into a bowl. Hinata walked over to the table and sat down right across from Temari, who in turn ignored her and continued eating her Frosted Flakes.

"What's going on? You _hate_ Frosted Flakes." Hinata frowned and stared back defiantly as Temari glared at her through narrowed eyes.

"Yes. But you don't." She swallowed a large spoonful meaningfully.

"What's this about?" Hinata banged her fists on the table in frustration, "I haven't _done_ anything to you! Yet you keep acting like a total ice queen!" She clenched her fists until they turned white.

Temari stopped in mid bite and slowly put the spoon down, "Why are you here?" Her voice was low and quiet, "Why the _hell_ are you here?" Her grip on the spoon was so tight it was beginning to bend.

"I---what?" She stared at Temari, trying to decipher what was really going on, "Why do you care?"

"Why. Are. You. Here?" She drew out her sentence through her gritted teeth.

"Why do you care so much? Does it bother you so much?" She felt so bitter about Temari being angry at her, and her for being angry at Temari.

What Temari did next no one would have expected of her. She publicly burst into tears. Hinata just stared and stared at the crying woman, unsure of how to handle the situation. After a number of hiccups and sobs Temari wiped away a few stray tears with her wrist and continued with a wail, "It's not fair!"

Hinata cautiously snuck over to Temari's side and kneeled down beside her, "What's not fair?"

Temari looked down miserably at Hinata, "You hate him! You don't care about Sasuke, y-you don't care, but you're here!"

"I don't_ hate_ him--"

"You don't love him either!" She cut in and cried accusingly, the whine in her voice was now replaced by anger.

"I still don't get it, what's this about? You have nothing to worry about, you're gorgeous, smart and witty, why are you worried about me being in this contest? I'm no threat to you." Hinata watched Temari struggle internally, debating on what to say.

"I thought so too." She was completely oblivious as to what she had just implied so continued as before, "But he doesn't actually like you! He only picked you to cause a stir with the rest of the Hyuugas!" She blurted out and slapped her hand to her mouth.

"How do you know?" Hinata narrowed her eyes. Cause a stir with the Hyuugas? This didn't sound good, The Hyuugas were the Uchihas biggest rival. She mentally slapped herself, why didn't she think of this before?

"I--I overheard Sasuke discussing it with the producer." Hinata assumed she had been eavesdropping by the way Temari fiddled with her stray strands of hair sheepishly.

"Well that's good then, I don't love him and he doesn't love me, why are you worrying?" Why was Temari making such a big deal out of all of this? And since when did she care about Sasuke anyways? She hadn't shown any opinion on the young heartthrob in previous cases. In fact, Hinata had no clue that Temari desired Sasuke until she had entered and arrived at this contest.

Temari looked down at Hinata as if she had just said that she was secretly a special agent sent by the CIA to destroy Sasuke's latest apocalyptic/rule the world device. In other words, a look of disbelief. She shook her head, "Are you kidding me? Why else would he have slept with you instead of one of us?"

Hinata began to choke on the apple she had taken out of the fruit basket and had proceeded to eat while trying to get out Temari's reasons to her coldness. Once she had managed to calmly regulate her breathing she roared, "_What_?!"

Temari sunk her head into her crossed arms and quietly whispered, "I saw him leave your room this morning."

"I did _not_ sleep with him! Well, maybe---but no! I sure as _hell_ did not have sex with him. He passed out in the foyer from too much alcohol so I dragged him into my room because I didn't know where his room was. That's all." She walked over to the refrigerator to pour herself a glass of orange juice, all the while mumbling an incoherent, "The drunk."

Temari refused to listen to her though, "Yeah right. There is no way that you could keep your hands off of him." She snarled back, her foul mood worsening.

Hinata came back to Temari's side and kneeled next to her, "Listen. I do _not_ love Sasuke. He doesn't love me. I'm only here because Tenten had entered me into this contest purely to have a good laugh. I have no doubt in my mind that I will lose this contest." She put one hand on her heart and the other in the air to swear the absolute truth.

Temari looked down at her reluctantly and ran a hand through one of her four ponytails, "Hinata, you make it so hard to hate you. You're too honest and kind all of the time." Hinata inwardly smirked, she obviously hadn't heard the string of profanities Sasuke had howled at her when she had kicked him out of her room.

"So you_ don't_ hate me." Hinata asked hopefully and took another bite out of her browning apple.

Temari gave a small laugh, "Hinata, I could never hate you. Believe me, I tried, but you're too nice, too true, it came out more of a muddled repulsion."

Hinata grinned and tossed her apple core into the garbage, "I expect another box of Frosted Flakes soon, it better have one of those free watches in it too." She shuffled through the cupboards again until she came across another box of cereal, "Look. Now you've forced me to eat Lucky Charms." She made a face and Temari gave a bark of laughter.

"Yeah, yeah." Temari got up from her seat and walked towards the door that led out of the kitchen.

"W-wait!" Hinata quickly dropped the Lucky Charms box and her spoon onto the table and rushed over to the hesitant blonde, "No hard feelings?"

"Hinata," She turned around and gave Hinata a pained look, "we've been friends for a long time right? But in this competition we can't be friends. We're rivals. I think if we continued our friendship in this contest, it would be destroyed. I'm sorry." She walked out of the room leaving Hinata staring glumly at the annoyingly happy leprechaun on the cover of the cereal box.

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After her little fiasco with Temari, Hinata spent most of the day wandering around in her misery searching for more rooms that seemed to be hidden. She had wandered around for hours, occasionally coming across a few rooms she had already seen, until she found a curious looking small hallway. She stopped in her tracks and stared down the middle to see a large mural of a seventeenth century styled globe with a quote written across the centre in beautiful calligraphy at the very end of the hall.

E**xi**stence

_There is no means of proving. It is preferable to be than not to be._

Hinata walked down to it and gently ran her hand across the wall, gazing at it in wonder. Although she could by no means be counted as an artist, she could definitely appreciate the beauty in certain works of art.

"What are you doing here?"

Hinata spun around to face a cross Sasuke Uchiha, "Oh! I was just er-- trying to familiarize myself with the house. You know, you might want to think about handing out some sort of map, it's really hard to find anything here."

"Maybe I don't want meddlesome girls snooping around in my home." He stepped closer to her making her step back against the wall.

"I don't think that's very good hosting skills. For the next six months we're going to live here too." She whispered, this situation was beginning to seem far too similar to the one she had endured last night

"Five. Five months." He inched closer causing her flinch and shy even further back. Smirking, Sasuke placed his hand on the wall next to Hinata's head so that she was cornered beneath him. He lowered his head so that it was level to hers, "You scared of me?"

Hinata fidgeted uncomfortably, he was far too close to her for her comfort. She thought about just admitting the truth to him, but instantly remembered what Temari had told her during breakfast and looked him straight in the eye, "I'm not here because you want me here or because you're attracted to me, am I?"

This startled the Uchiha, she could tell by the way his usually impassive eyes widened and his eyebrows rose way up, "What?"

"You're only tolerating me to piss off my family, aren't you?" The rage in her was slowly increasing, so much so that she dared to glare back at the intimidating young man and raise her chin in disdain.

"Must I answer that?" He quirked his eyebrow, his surprise still poorly hidden behind his long bangs.

"You already have." She pushed passed him and stomped out of the hallway leaving him standing alone with no girl to intimidate and slightly shocked. By the time Hinata had stormed off and found herself back in the foyer in front of her room, she had come up with one conclusion about Sasuke.

He was a bully.

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**I know, I know, you don't have to keep telling me, they're getting a lot shorter than before, but it's _hard_ to keep them long. Can you blame a girl? I only have so much time and knowledge to make them long enough for your guys' liking.**

**P.S. That one quote in the hallway (the Existence one) is NOT mine, E.M. Cioran made that one up.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	14. Midnight Snacks

**Chapter 14**

Hinata gave a large yawn before smoothing out any creases that may have been in her skirt. It was too late to be doing anything, after all that walking earlier on that day, she felt like the living dead. Yet here she was, after midnight, assembling for Sasuke to arrival to eliminate one of the girls.

"Alright girls! Get over here!" Kakashi summoned them over and brought the clipboard up to his mouth in attempt to make himself more heard.

Hinata trotted over to the director and listened attentively to his instructions. He cleared his throat and continued, "What we'll do is you'll line up in a single queue and file into through those curtains into the foyer and line up in a row in front of him. Good luck."

Sakura lined up in the front with Hinata trailing behind the rest of the girls silently. What would happen after she had left? She had no doubt that she would leave after her fight with Sasuke, who would want a meek, passably good looking, snappish girl like her as a wife? She gave an inaudible sigh, this would be so much easier if Sasuke stopped playing mind games with her, one minute he'd be a perfect gentleman, the next a raging pervert/bully.

Several seconds after they had all lined up in an orderly fashion, Sasuke emerged from down the stairs looking positively stunning with a white dress shirt (that Hinata had no doubt cost more than her pay check) and his hair sticking up in its normal duck tail manner. He took a painfully long time to walk down the winding stairs before stopping in front of all of them and giving them a smile that probably would have made thousands of girls swoon with excitement with just one glance.

"Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Temari and Kin, I'd like to point out that you've all been great company, but I regret having to do this, I must ask one of you to leave my house tonight." Hinata snuck a quick peek at the other girls, the only girl with any expression written on her face was Sakura who looked like she was calculating the odds that she wouldn't stay. Which were probably around 0.0001.

A tall man that Hinata recognized as one of the servants around the mansion pulled out a tray and removed the lid, on the tray were four glittering bracelets that looked like they cost…well, a lot.

The girls gave excited 'ooohs' and 'ahhhs'. Sasuke was already buying them jewellery, what girl didn't find that absolutely irresistible? At least, what girl except Hinata who just stared at the bracelets in mild interest. She wasn't one for jewellery, it was impractical and anyone who wore anything remotely around the price of what those bracelets must have cost around the area she worked in were practically screaming, "Mug me!". Though she had to admit, the amount of sparkle on it _did_ make it easy on the eyes.

"The first girl I'd like to call up is…Ino." Ino gave him a look of disgustingly fake surprise and then quickly turned her head to give Sakura a smug look. Sakura looked absolutely infuriated as Sasuke placed a small kiss on Ino's lips, her face was turning pink and her balled fists were shaking.

Sasuke fortunately, or unfortunately, did not see Sakura's phenomenal display of cerise, crimson, scarlet, burgundy, and various other equally charming shades of red, so continued as before, "…Sakura."

Sakura's fury instantly dispelled as she practically skipped up to Sasuke with a broad, unhidden smile plastered on her face and let him give her a quick peck on the lips. Sasuke looked at the three girls standing and smiled, "Temari."

Temari walked over gracefully and gave him an appreciating smile. He gave her a slight smile back and gave her a kiss and the beautiful bracelet. Once Temari had lined up beside Ino and Sakura, Sasuke looked gravely at Hinata and Kin. "Hinata and Kin, will you please step forward."

Reluctantly, Hinata did so and waited for his next empty words that to her seemed so fake that she had no clue why he even bothered. Holding up the bracelet in front of the two, Sasuke continued, "Kin, you're one of the last ones because although you have a great personality, you and I just don't seem to click or have any chemistry." Even though Kin's face was impassive, Hinata could tell that she was hurt by the way her shoulders sagged and her hands were wringing together.

"Hinata. You're here also because we don't exactly _click_ either if you know what I mean, and your temperament isn't always extremely pleasant. " Hinata shot a glare which Sasuke (and hopefully the cameras) pointedly ignored, "But it seems like I've seen you and your personality much more than the rest of these girls." He held out his sentence and exhaled deeply, "Which is why I have to give this to you, Hinata."

Hinata was completely bewildered as she walked up to Sasuke and held out her hand for him to put the bracelet on. She barely felt him as his lips brushed against hers. In fact, the only thing that registered to her were the tears welling up in Kin's eyes. This wasn't fair, Hinata didn't want him, the only reason she was staying here was because she didn't want to lose to Sakura again. Kin actually liked Sasuke, she didn't think he was an obnoxious jerk like Hinata did, she genuinely thought he was a true gentleman.

Sasuke quickly placed a fleeting kiss on her cheek, "I'm sorry Kin. I hope you find your special someone because unfortunately, I'm not him." She gave him a weak smile and then turned her back on him to run to her room and grab her stuff to leave the house.

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Hinata collapsed onto the bed face first and breathed out deeply, this wasn't supposed to go like this, she was supposed to leave because Sasuke hated her guts. Why couldn't he just get rid of her instead of playing these stupid mind games and torturing her? Why did he have to be such a jerk about everything too?

Angrily, she stormed out of the room, she didn't care if she was supposed to stay in her room , she needed a glass of water. And some chocolate. Anything to drown her confusion that she was feeling.

Several minutes after she had managed to navigate in the impossibly large mansion in the dark, she arrived at the kitchen and turned it upside down until she finally found a box Oreo cookies and a large box of M&M packets. She found a small corner in the kitchen corner and sat down to wolf down her M&Ms and Oreos, sulkily wondering if the Hyuugas would finally appreciate her if they found out of some homicide was committed in the Uchiha household, the murder of Sasuke Uchiha.

The lights suddenly flickered on and Hinata froze, please don't let it be Kakashi or one of the girls, and god **FORBID** it was Sasuke, please, please, please, please, please---

"Hyuuga?"

Was it so much to ask for God to strike her down and turn her into small ashes, unseen by the man looming before her? Guess so.

"Erm…Hi." She took a quick nibble out her cookie in attempt to avoid any possible eye contact between her and Sasuke.

"Why are you out here? You know you're not supposed to be---"

"I know, okay?!" Her patience was at a record low (for a Hyuuga) and she felt the urge to somehow suffocate Sasuke with her M&M packet, "I get it. Now leave me alone unless you're just here to tell me off. In which case, leave anyways."

"What's up with you? One minute you'll be tolerable, the next you'll blow up in my face!" It seemed Hinata wasn't the only one peeved.

"You hypocrite! You'll help me out, be a perfect gentleman, and then you turn into this bully and--and, _pervert_!" She felt the hot tears that were streaming down her face and quickly wiped them away with the back of her wrists.

"Pervert?" He seemed genuinely surprised. Shit. Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit. He still didn't remember his little drunk escapade and Hinata would rather watch her foot being eaten than him remember that.

"Uh…yeah, when y-you backed m-me u-up against the--the h-hallway…" Crap. She was stuttering again, a sure telltale sign that she was lying her pants off.

Too Hinata's utter surprise, Sasuke didn't seem to notice, or he just didn't care because he shouted, "_What_? That was _not_ perversion."

"It's not perversion, eh? Then what the hell was it?" Hinata snarled back, causing Sasuke to recoil in surprise. Why was he so surprised? This wasn't the first time she had yelled at him, in fact, most every time she saw him, she yelled at him.

Sasuke sighed and ran his fingers through his shaggy hair, "Look, Hinata, I don't want to fight with you. I really think we started off great, then everything started falling apart. Can we start off where it was before?"

"Listen up Uchiha, trust isn't something that can you can just earn back with an apology, it's something you have to prove. I'm not going to just forgive you for trying to disgrace and humiliate my family just because you're some rich pretty boy, you're going to have to work for it." She stared him down with her narrowed eyes. Although he had the respect to apologize to her, he wasn't going to get one from her that easily.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and sunk down to his knees so that he was eye level with her, "What do I have to regain this so called 'trust' oh exalted one?" He rose one knee and lowered his head in a bow.

Hinata gave a ghost of a smile and slapped his head lightly, "You idiot. You're not taking this seriously, do you think this is really helping your case?"

He sat down cross legged across from her, "Fine. I'll quit it. But seriously, what do I have to do?"

"Uchiha, why do you care so much about my opinion when you have a house of girls who are five times prettier, more confident, and have a passion for you that I might--might…might never have." She whispered the last three words so quietly she wasn't sure that he heard her.

"Hinata, I don't do this often, so listen up. Have you ever even looked at yourself in the mirror? You could almost match Sakura up in beauty, it's just a more subtle beauty." Was he joking? She looked him straight in the eye, he seemed sincere enough.

"Uh…thanks." She gave him another small smile then snuggled her head into her arm. What time was it? "But are you only keeping me here because you think I could pass as pretty? Maybe I was right about you being shallow."

"Stop putting words into my mouth, I didn't say that." He looked tired too, dark bags hung under his eyes and his head drooped slightly.

"You're avoiding the question."

He sighed, "You---girls---are so much trouble, you say something nice to them, they blow up, you _don't_ say something nice to them, they blow up." She glared at him, he still wasn't answering her question, "Okay, okay, okay. I'm keeping you here because…you know the explanation that I gave you in front of cameras? Well, that's the real reason, you're not afraid to get angry at me. The other girls always tiptoe around me and edit anything they have to say."

She stared at him then gave in to his tired look, "Fine. You're getting closer to earning back my trust."

He grinned and stood up, "You mean I haven't won it back yet?" He offered his hand to her so that she could hoist herself up clumsily.

"Nope. You'd better work harder, buddy." She stretched and placed the M&Ms and box of Oreos on the marble counter with a muffled clatter.

"'Buddy'?" He raised an eyebrow and gave her a smirk that she felt so annoyingly familiarised with.

"Shut up." She turned a light pink and flung an M&M at his neck where it fell down into his creased and messy shirt. He shook his shirt out and several seconds later the M&M fell out of the bottom of his pants. Hinata laughed, "Nice magic trick there, Uchiha. You could start your own magic shows, 'The magnificent and mysterious Sasuke Uchiha. Can make M&Ms pop out of nowhere!'"

"Want to see another one of my tricks?" He took a few steps towards her and grinned like the Cheshire cat himself.

Hinata raised an eyebrow, "Okay, do your worst."

He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "I can turn you into a tomato." He turned his head and lightly pressed his lips against hers. In her surprise, she stumbled into his hard chest making him wrap his arms around her to steady her. She felt like she should have been panicking, instead she felt excited, this wasn't like the kiss that he forced onto her when he was drunk, this one felt gentle and soft.

Several seconds later to her relief (and somehow disappointment) he let go of her and smirked down at her red face, "Hmm, I think you're right, this magic thing might be my new calling."

"I--uh…b--bed….b…bye." She quickly ran off not stopping until she was safely under the comfort of her thick blanket.

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**SO. TIRED. CAN'T. TYPE. ANY. MORE.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	15. Library

**Chapter 15**

Hinata jerked her head up from her pillow, beads of sweat dribbled down from her forehead. Every night she had been having the same nightmare over and over again, each time she would recognize the man but as soon as she woke up, his face and name would suddenly slip her mind.

She stumbled into the washroom and splashed her face with cold water, trying to clear her thoughts and remember what had happened since last night. 1. Kakashi woke them up at an ungodly hour to do elimination. 2. Sasuke eliminated Kin and gave the remaining contestants fancy bracelets. 3. Hinata stormed off to find food after determining that Kin shouldn't have left, she should've. 4. Sasuke found her in the kitchen. 5. They fought and Hinata threw an M&M at Sasuke. 6. Sasuke kissed her---

Sasuke kissed her.

Hinata's hand flew up to her lips and she gently traced them, remembering the tingling sensation his lips had left on hers. What did she feel about Sasuke? Did she still feel that he was a bully intent upon destroying her family's dignity? Or was he just a great kisser?

She quickly left the washroom, not wanting to see her reddening face anymore and threw off the clothes that she had neglected to change from the night before and flung them into a corner. Shuffling through her suitcase, she found a thick sweater and jeans to slip on and dashed out of the room to look for some quiet place away from the prying eyes of the cameras.

After searching for a good three minutes, she finally found a large room she had determined as the library. Books lined every inch of the walls and old couches that looked like they had been dipped in dust sat in the center of the whole room. The only light in the room came from an enormous window that basically took up a whole wall to fill.

Slowly, she ran her fingers across the books, they were old and had thick layers of dust on most of them. Most of them except for the ones on martial arts, boxing, and philosophy, none of which really interested her. After much gazing absentmindedly at books that looked like they'd make Gaara fall asleep (poor man was an insomniac), she finally just collapsed onto one of the chairs and watched in mild amusement as the dust flitted about the room, dancing in patterns in the morning sunlight that streamed through the thick glass.

Her gaze finally landed on a single leather bound book that was nearly hidden under the couch opposite of her. Giving in to her curiosity, she reached over and gently picked up the old book, gingerly stroking the patterns that were imbedded into the swirling colours of red and white. Flipping open the book, she discovered it wasn't actually a book, it was a photo album filled with pictures of…Sasuke.

There were pictures of Sasuke at about the age of seven blowing out birthday candles, pictures of a ten year old Sasuke looking like he was about to cry (The caption on the back of the photograph read 'Aftermath of Sasuke eating a seven year old pickle'), pictures of Sasuke when he was about fourteen awkwardly trying to tie up a tie, many, many pictures of Sasuke.

Hinata didn't know how long she spent analyzing each and every picture, it felt so strange looking at Sasuke looking so…carefree. She felt like she was peeking into a diary of some sort, it felt like looking at a different side of Sasuke, one without the untrusting look he always carried or without the anger and annoyance that was almost perfectly hidden under his false politeness and pleasantness.

She finally flipped to the last page, it wasn't just a picture of Sasuke, it was a picture of Sasuke and what seemed to be his family. In the photo, Sasuke was eagerly clutching the hand of a young man that looked like an older, more sophisticated Sasuke. Behind the young man and Sasuke was what Hinata assumed were his mother and father. His father was a stately looking man with eyes that although when looked at with just a glance seemed stoic and cold, once analyzed carefully, seemed to hold a compassion and pride for his family. His mother was a beautiful woman with a gentle smile and kind eyes, Hinata guessed she was where Sasuke obtained his beauty and grace.

She carefully slid the photograph out of the plastic slip that held all of the pictures in place and looked at the back.

"Mother, Father and I at Itachi's graduation." Hinata quietly whispered the caption and traced each word carefully. Itachi? Was that the man who Sasuke had been holding hands with? She flipped the photograph back over and stared at Itachi, he was the only one without any trace of emotion, his whole face was blank and impossible for Hinata to decipher. Was he where Sasuke got his seriousness? She doubted it, in that picture Sasuke seemed just as cheery and naïve as the rest of the pictures.

She sighed, what happened to that little boy? Where did he go? She wished she could've met him, seen Sasuke without the deep mistrust he carried around in his heart, seen him without the anger and sorrow that almost managed to hide.

She snapped out of her daze as she heard the door to the library click, god damn those nosy cameramen! Couldn't they just stay away? Quickly, she snatched the photo album and dived under the couch with it.

From under the couch she could make out a pair of shoes headed over towards the couch she was hiding under. She held her breath, this didn't seem like this would be the cameramen, actually, those shoes seemed kind of familiar…

"What are you doing down here?" Sasuke had lifted up the couch slip that concealed Hinata under the couch and kneeled on the ground next to her so that he was able to converse with her easier.

"I--uh…I was hiding from the cameramen." She quickly pushed the album away with her toe so that it was further away from the two. No need for him to know that she was looking at baby pictures of him and think she was some stalker.

He chuckled, "You'd better do a better job of it next time, your hair's sticking out everywhere from under the couch. It looks like a corpse was poorly hidden under my couch."

Hinata winced at the gruesome simile, "Lovely."

He offered her his hand to hoist her up from under the couch and onto her feet. She brushed off the dust that had collected on her jeans from the couch and looked up at Sasuke, still remembering the kiss, she blushed slightly at the memory. Sasuke noticed this and raised his eyebrow, "What?"

"What? Oh--noth-nothing." She turned around, her face was getting redder and redder. When she used to go out with Naruto this always happened too. Was that supposed to mean something? Was that supposed to mean that she loved Sasuke now? Nooooooo! It was only a kiss! A really good kiss though…

"Hyuuga? Are you okay?" He asked referring to her fidgeting and blushing. He quickly pressed the palm of his hand to her head, "Are you sick?"

"I'm fine." She snapped and swatted his hand away, with him at such a close proximity it made her feel overwhelmed. She hadn't noticed before, but he had a very masculine scent that Hinata (try as she might) couldn't help but feel even the slightest bit attracted to.

He shrugged and went over to one of the bookshelves to pick out a book, "Suit yourself." Once he had chosen a book he sat down in the couch opposite and began reading, not once looking up at Hinata. Almost as if he were ignoring her. Had she offended him somehow? She sighed and sunk into her chair, the whole male race was so confusing to understand.

Holding her head down, she flickered her gaze up to watch Sasuke read his book. He didn't seem as serene or calm as she would have suspected from someone reading a book, he looked angry and…confused.

Hinata studied him closer and found things she hadn't realized before; his eyes weren't black, they were more onyx than anything, if he found anything interesting in his book he would purse his lips together, his hair was naturally that spiky, it wasn't gelled…so many things she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed before.

She brought her knees up so they were tucked under her chin and quietly called out to Sasuke, "Uchiha, are you angry with me?"

Sasuke didn't even raise his head from the book when he answered with a shrug, "Why would you care? You're only in this stupid contest because your friend entered you."

Hinata stared at him in amazement, this man could change his attitude fast than she could change clothes. Did he _still_ hold a grudge against her for that? "What is wrong with you? You didn't show any sign of caring recently, you didn't seem to care…last night." She sighed in frustration, "I can't keep up with you, Uchiha."

He finally raised his head from his book, "You're one to talk. _You're_ the one who keeps changing how you feel, you'll be fine one minute, the next I think you like me, and then you turn into a human popsicle." Although his face was calm, his voice had an icy edge to it.

"_Me_? _I'm_ the human popsicle? You're the who…who…_augh_!" She buried her head in the pillow next to her and gave a small scream. This man was so frustrating, how could she have thought that she was ever in love with him?

She carefully put down the pillow and fluffed it up before standing up to face Sasuke, "I apologize for my outburst. Have a good day Mr. Uchiha." She turned on her heel and began to head towards the door that led out of the library.

Soft sniffling noises were hear behind her, so she slowly turned around to see Sasuke with his head tucked into his knees that rested under his chin. She couldn't make out his face but she could see his shoulders shake uncontrollably.

Was he crying?

Turning back around gradually, she walked back over to the couch where Sasuke was crouched into a small ball and put her hand on his shoulder, "U-Uchiha? Are you okay?" A muffled noise was emitted from Sasuke's mouth, Hinata bent down to hear him better, "Uh…pardon? I can't hear you if you have your head in your knees." Another incoherent muffle was heard from Sasuke so Hinata slowly lifted his head with her hands and looked at him. He was grinning.

He was _laughing_?

"Wh-what?" She tried to storm back out of the room, but was stopped by Sasuke's steel grip on her wrists. He pulled her in slowly so that she was bent down and several inches from Sasuke's face.

"You're so amusing, Hyuuga." He laughed and taunted her by pulling her closer so that she could almost feel his lips on hers.

She blushed furiously and struggled in his grasp, "Listen, Uchiha, I don't know what you're trying to do, I don't even know _why_ you're trying to do it, but it's seriously getting old. Now why don't you let go of my wrists and---" Sasuke just rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her to bring her so that she was straddling his hips and was flat against his chest.

"There, now isn't that better?" He smirked at her and playfully tousled her hair making her blush even more and lower her head in embarrassment.

"You weren't even listening…" She finally looked up and gave him an indignant look, "And remember our little discussion we had about earning trust? Well this definitely is _not_ helping you. In fact, I'm going to have to deduct points, now you're at _negative_ twenty seven instead of the zero you earned last night."

"Now what did I do to earn that many points?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. Hinata opened her mouth to say something but shut it quickly, too embarrassed to say anything. Sasuke quirked the side of his mouth and leaned his face in closer to Hinata, "Was it the kiss?"

"W-what? N-no! I---I…no. I--it d-definitely was n-not th-that, it w-was---"

"Shut up." He finally stopped teasing her and pressed his lips firmly against her. Hinata couldn't help it, he was too close, too good smelling, too good of a kisser…she kissed him back. She closed her eyes and slowly threaded her gentle fingers through his soft hair. Sasuke must not have minded her kissing him back because his hands slowly began to travel upwards towards her breasts.

The door to the library began to rattle making Hinata's eyes snap open. She quickly tried to disentangle herself from the obviously upset Uchiha who held onto her arm and whispered commandingly, "Stay."

She looked at Sasuke pleadingly and urged him to let go, "Please, let go." Reluctantly, he loosened his grip and Hinata dived under the couch again, making sure that her long hair was fully hidden. The door finally swung open to reveal a pair of disgustingly expensive looking Prada shoes.

"What the hell is this room supposed to be? This has to be the ugliest---Sasuke!" A shrill giggle could be heard and the person quickly ran over to the couch which Sasuke sat upon and Hinata hid under. Hinata quickly checked to see if the cameramen men were behind Sakura or Ino (It definitely was not Temari, no way would she ever _giggle_ like that). Sure enough, several other pairs of shoes entered the room following Sakura/Ino like a lost puppy. The gods were seriously unjust.

"Oh, hello, Ino." Hinata could imagine him smiling that brilliantly, dazzling smile he always seemed to reserve for every girl except for Hinata.

"Hi." Ino whispered flirtatiously, making Hinata want to gag and throw up all over Ino's thousands of dollars shoes. Ino walked closer to Sasuke and sat down on either the couch or Sasuke, causing the extra weight almost suffocate Hinata.

"So what are you doing all alone here, handsome?" Ino whispered seductively to Sasuke. The weight of the couch shifted so that it leaned more to Sasuke's side. Hinata guessed she was probably sprawled across him by now.

"I'm not alone now am I?" Sucking and slobbering noises were heard from above Hinata who considered jumping out of her hiding spot and slapping them both silly while yelling, "You nasty little idiots! I can't believe I let you kiss me with _that_ mouth, Sasuke!". Instead, she decided to kick the couch where she hoped Sasuke was.

"What was that?" The slobbering and sucking suddenly halted and Hinata cringed, she must have kicked Ino.

"What was what?" Sasuke asked and Hinata inwardly cursed him with every profanity she knew.

"The couch kicked me!" Ino wailed, "And it hurt!" Hinata rolled her eyes, how dumb could this girl be? At least her stupidity might save Hinata.

"I don't know, how about we check?" Hinata screamed silently in panic, this contest was no longer a punishment sent from God, _Sasuke_ was. She prayed that after Neji killed her for being alone in the same room as Sasuke (even though she was under a couch) that in the next life she would never meet anyone in the likes of Sasuke Uchiha.

"Will Ino please come down to the foyer, it seems your fifty-nine pairs of shoes finally arrived from Miami." Kakashi's voice rang through the quiet library from the small speaker in the corner hidden under several thick layers of dust. Hinata thanked whatever god out there for creating FedEx. And working intercoms.

"Aww…too bad. I guess I'll see you later, handsome." Ino got up from the couch, finally giving Hinata room to freely breathe (as freely as possible from under a couch).

When the door finally clicked shut and Hinata was sure that the cameramen and Ino were finally gone, she crawled out from under the couch and turned to point accusingly at Sasuke who was sitting and reading his book again, "You were about to rat me out! Thirty points deduction."

"What are you going to do? Put me in detention?" He asked coldly, his eyes never leaving the pages that seemed to stop turning altogether.

"What?" Was he angry at her _again_? It seems he was angry that he finally found something he couldn't win with charms and money. Hinata. She sighed and nodded, "Fine. Goodbye Uchiha, I'll see you at dinner." With that, she finally exited from the library.

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**IT WASN'T MY FAULT! I was trying to update last week but something was screwed up (and no, I do not think it was my computer, I think it was fanfiction) and I couldn't! Well, I guess I could've just added another chapter, but it was a fairly lazy week, and I wanted to keep it that way.**

** Someone had mentioned last chapter that tomatoes were Sasuke's favourite food, but I didn't actually mean he was turning her into a "tomato" because it was his favourite food, I just didn't want to use strawberry because I'd already used that as a comparison in previous chapters.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	16. Whistler

**Chapter 16**

Hinata spent the next few weeks tiptoeing around the mansion, wary about which rooms she was found in, and about which rooms _he_ could be found in.

After their last encounter she had with him, things had been incredibly uncomfortable and awkward. At dinner times she would sit as far away as she could from everybody and close herself up into her shell, wishing she could've reached back and gobbled up the words she had said to him before. Maybe he wouldn't be so angry with her anymore then.

It was _especially_ awkward whenever they met in the hallways with the cameramen trailing and observing every screw up they did. It felt exactly like being smothered with a thick blanket. Suffocating. Each time they exchanged that faked politeness made it feel like another layer of blanket was added, making it harder and harder to breathe.

Sighing, she took another harsh stab at the food in front of her and shoved it into her mouth with an unladylike snort. Try as she might, she couldn't help but want to stay here, and to her absolute shock and horror, it wasn't just because of Sakura.

"Where's Sasuke? Didn't he promise he'd be here for dinner?" Sakura stage whispered across the table to where Ino was poking at her plate of spaghetti with her fork, mentally calculating how many calories there would be in a single bite.

"Why should _you_ care? It's not like he's going to pay any attention to you anyways, fat forehead." Ino didn't even bother looking up from her spaghetti as she scoffed at Sakura.

"Wh-what? It's not fat! It's just…on the larger side, pig." Sakura haughtily tossed her hair behind her shoulder.

"I am _not_ a pig!" Ino shrieked and guiltily pushed the plate of spaghetti away from her.

"_Pig_!"

"_Fat forehead_!"

"_Whore_!"

"_Slut_!"

"Er…what's up them?" Hinata braved asking Temari this seemingly innocent question, her real motive was to see if Temari would answer or ignore her.

"They've been rivals ever since they've started modeling, before they were models, they were best friends. It seems the reasons they became rivals was over Sasuke, Sakura forsake their friendship and Ino's been terribly offended by that, thusly creating rivals over a man." Temari gave a bored yawn and lazily twirled the spaghetti around her fork, not even giving Hinata the satisfaction of facing her.

"_Bitch_!"

"Hello, ladies." Sasuke had finally entered the dining room wearing a very casual black turtleneck and jeans.

"_Mother fu_--"

"_Ino, Sakura_!" Sasuke bellowed across the room to the two bickering girls who immediately backed away from each other with a indignant "hmph".

Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair, Hinata noticed he tended to do this whenever he was nervous or frustrated, she guessed that he was frustrated this time. He frowned momentarily at the two girls before proceeding, "Two girls have already left this contest so quickly, because of that, I'd like to have some more time to spend with you…elsewhere." He drew out his sentence, Hinata noticed again that he did this whenever he felt like he didn't have enough attention on him.

"Which is why we'll be flying up to snowy and cold, Whistler, Vancouver." Cheers erupted from Sakura, Ino and Temari. Hinata sank lower into her seat with a fearful glance at Sasuke, she _hated_ snow, _and_ she couldn't ski or snowboard to save her life.

She prayed there would be emergency ambulances anywhere within fifty feet away from her in Whistler.

* * *

She lugged her bag off of the carousel with a grunt, she didn't know how Tenten had managed to sneak all this junk into there without her noticing it at all. The three-and-a-half hour plane trip to here had been unbelievably awkward, she had been seated right between Sasuke and Sakura.

Two-and-a-half hours earlier…

"_So, _Sasuke_, what made you choose Whistler?" Sakura batted her eyelashes and leaned over Hinata as if she weren't even there, exposing a large amount of cleavage in the process. Hinata stared at Sakura in mild amazement, she managed to flirt even when asking a question as seemingly innocent as that._

_Sasuke continued to stare wearily out the window as he answered Sakura, "I just finished a business deal down in the Caribbean, and to tell you the truth, I'm sick of all the sun by now."_

"_Aw, that's too bad, I _love_ the sun." Hinata imagined that Sakura was disappointed that Sasuke would now be unable to see her in the skimpiest bathing suit known to man. Then again, she'd probably find a way to wear one in the ice and snow anyways._

"_Um…Sakura, would you mind removing yourself from me, please?" Hinata gasped, she was almost unable to breathe due to Sakura being sprawled across her._

"_I'll do what I want!" Sakura snapped back and continued to attempt to converse with the obviously fatigued Sasuke._

_Hinata probably would've given Sakura a beating (with the self-defence moves Neji had taught her before, considering the area that she had formerly resided in) had it not been for the fact that it was well known that Sakura was quite the kick boxer and could easily kick Hinata's scrawny ass twice over. _

"_Well, could we at least trade places?" Hinata really didn't want to give in to Sakura, but also didn't want to die of asphyxiation either. Sasuke's eyes widened in horror as Sakura's widened in delight._

"_Okay, mov--"_

"_I have to go to the bathroom." Sasuke immediately stood up from his seat and gave Hinata a sharp pinch on the elbow as he walked past her._

"_Ow! Watch---" A harsh glare from Sasuke cut her off quickly. That man had the coldest demeanour that she had the misfortune of being in presence of._

"_Come." He murmured lowly to Hinata as he walked past her down the aisle. Come with him? Why? She bit her lip, although he could seriously piss her off, she still felt the need to make up with him, even if it wasn't her fault._

_Sighing, she looked back to where Sasuke had entered the washroom, "I--uh…I think I know one o-of those st-stewardesses over th-there." She jumped out of her seat before Sakura could say anything and headed towards the washrooms._

_Once she had reached the area of the washrooms, she called out softly, "Uchiha? You there?" A hand shot out of the washroom to her left and pulled her in roughly, startling her. _

"_Wha--?" A hand roughly covered her mouth causing a sick feeling of nausea in the pit of her stomach and for her to go rigid. Who was this? This _was_ Sasuke, right?_

"_Shh! I came in here for a reason, _not_ to attract any attention from the rest of the girls." The sound of Sasuke's voice made Hinata breathe a sigh of relief and relax against Sasuke's chest. At least he wasn't a rapist of sorts. Possibly. Unless he was drunk._

"_Why did you call me here?" Hinata hissed and turned around in Sasuke's grasp so she was facing him._

"_I _refuse_ to sit next to Sakura, as gorgeous and funny as she is, she talks _far_ too much. I'm dead tired and I want to sleep." Hinata noticed that he didn't let go of her even when she had turned around to face him, it made her stomach queasy. _

"_Well, why did you call me here?" Did he or did he not understand her question?_

"_Because if I sit by myself, I would be bombarded with horny girls and women, I need to sit next to someone so that they suppose I'm taken." He explained to her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world._

"_Then why do you need me?" God, this was getting so old, how many times would she have to ask him? "Couldn't you just get Ino or Temari?_

"_Ino and Temari also talk too much, you're the only one who shuts up. For the most part." He smirked at her, that smirk was _really_ starting to get onto her nerves._

_She was about to refuse, but she understood his need. Silence was truly golden. As much as she had loved Naruto, he talked too much for her liking, she had thought she would eventually go deaf from being around him She looked in the direction of the door and let out a defeated sigh, "Fine, I'll come with you to...where _are_ we going to go?"_

_He gave the slightest of grins and asked, "Where else? Executive class, of course."

* * *

_

Hinata gave a small smile at the memory, even though Sasuke had spent more than half the time with his head resting on her shoulder, asleep, it was nice to know that he wasn't angry enough to ignore her anymore.

"Hey, Hinata, hurry up! I don't have all day to hold this door for you!" Shikamaru brought his hand up in a cup-like position to his mouth and yelled to Hinata who had been standing in the same position for several minutes.

"Huh? Oh! Uh, sorry, Shikamaru." She gave him an apologetic smile as she handed him the luggage bag, "I'm still feeling a bit out of it since the plane ride."

He gave a shrug, "It's really none of my business, I just don't want to stand here all day."

"I--I guess so." She felt embarrassed, but for what reason, she didn't know.

She scooted in next between Temari and Ino, right next to the window that separated the chauffer with the passengers. As soon as everyone started chatting loudly enough that no one would pay attention to her, she slid open the window, startling Shikamaru.

"Jesus, Hinata! I thought you were Sasuke or someone complaining about my driving." He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and turned his head ever so slightly to see Hinata better, "What are you doing?"

"I don't really feel like joining in on their conversation about…" She paused for a moment to hear what they were talking about.

"…And oh my god, she totally gave me the wrong margarita!"

"The bitch!"

"…Bitchy waitresses." Hinata concluded and watched as Shikamaru swerved dangerously around a sharp corner. She looked out the window and observed their surroundings, "Wow, the roads are kind of…small."

Shikamaru chuckled, "Yeah, compared to Los Angeles, but they don't have as large of a population around Richmond as downtown Vancouver."

"'Richmond?'" Hinata scrunched her nose in confusion, "But I thought we _were_ in Vancouver."

"Well, this is the Vancouver airport, but it's in the suburb, Richmond." Shikamaru shrugged and screeched to a halt, making Hinata jerk forward.

"Oh. You sure know a lot about Canada."

He shrugged yet again, "I have an IQ over two hundred." Hinata could tell by the way he said it that he wasn't boasting, he was just stating fact.

"Then why would someone with an IQ over two hundred be chauffeuring a limo for someone they absolutely hate?" This man was…confusing to say the least.

"Too lazy." It was Hinata's turn to shrug at Shikamaru's answer, it made enough sense to her.

"Hyuuga."

Hinata turned around at the sound of her last name being called, it was Sasuke. He didn't seem too pleased that she found his chauffeur's company more enjoyable than his own. Hinata sat down properly in her seat and stared blankly at Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed, "Don't you think it's rather rude to be ignoring your host?"

"Sorry."

"God, why are you such a bitch? Can't you tell Sasuke's trying to be nice to you? Though really, I don't know why he even bothers." Sakura scoffed at Hinata and flipped her hair behind her back and continued to talk (bicker) with Ino.

Oh yes. This would be a very long ride to Whistler.

* * *

**Hahaha…yeah. I know, I've been late with my update (I try to make them weekly because I know **_**I**_** personally hate waiting for an update too), but I'm starting to find writing this a bit of a chore. Oh, by the way, I decided to add in Whistler because I'm a true blue Canadian gal and I wanted to be a bit patriotic.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	17. Chairlift

**Chapter 17**

Hinata stiffly walked out of the washroom that she had finished changing in. She felt like a freaking snowman in her snowboarding jacket and pants. White, poofy material covered every inch of her body making her joints almost impossible to move.

"Hurry up!" Sakura called Hinata over to the circle of girls in her whiny, high pitched voice that whenever Hinata heard it made her want to strangle anything close to her.

Hinata walked over as quickly as possible without the ability to move her knee joints, wondering how _Sakura_ had gotten out of the change room so fast, shouldn't she have taken forever putting her wardrobe together? Once she had made it to the ring of girls waiting for their hosts, she stared slacked jaw at Ino and Sakura.

They were wearing bikini tops.

In the freezing minus twenty degrees Celsius weather.

"S-Sakura, Ino! Why are you wearing _bikinis_, aren't you…cold?" Hinata continued to stare at them in amazement, other than the skimpy bikini tops they also had on a pair of pink (Sakura) and baby blue (Ino) snowboarding pants and a single white scarf wrapped around their necks.

"Do you see how sunny it is?" Sakura pointed upwards to the clear blue sky above them, "Once we get up to the slopes, it's going to get _way_ hotter. Besides, I need to work on my tan."

"Duh." Ino flipped her blonde ponytail behind her shoulder. She had probably stolen the idea from Sakura.

Hinata just sighed, "But of _course_, just because there's sun _obviously_ means that it's going to be warm." She said sarcastically, hoping to finally show up Sakura.

Sakura gave her a look of…pity? "Oh, you poor girl. You've never _been_ snowboarding before, have you? You are going to _boiling_ up there on the slopes in that…" She stopped to examine Hinata's suit, "…what is it? It's not Halloween yet you know. What are you supposed to be? The abominable snowman?"

Hinata was burning with rage and embarrassment, she should have just let it be and not made herself into an even bigger fool in front of the nation.

"Wow, Sakura, I just noticed, your hair! It looks so-so _exotic_! I love the pink!" Temari stepped in front of Hinata, totally cutting her off and lightly ran a finger through a long pink strand, "It's so soft too. That burn you're going to get is going to go perfectly with it." Temari looked like she was smiling, but Hinata knew through years of working with her that it was most definitely a smirk.

"_Burn_?" Ino screeched, "You said this would be fine, Sakura!"

"Calm down, pig. She's lying." Sakura looked up at Temari (who towered over her by at least three or four inches) in contempt. Hinata could tell by Sakura's shaking fists and lip that was being bitten down on so hard that it was turning white that Sakura knew that Temari was right.

Temari looked up at the sky, "Oh my, it looks like it's going to get dark_ real_ soon, you two had better bundle up soon!"

"Sakura, Ino, Temari and Hinata." All the girls turned around to see Sasuke walking towards them _also_ wearing snowboarding pants and jacket, but looking nothing like the snowman that Hinata was, "Welcome to Whistler!"

Sakura, Ino and Temari squealed with joy as they ran up to him and wrapped their arms around his neck. Hinata watched and slowly shuffled closer to Sasuke and stood several feet away from him, trying to keep her distance.

Sasuke turned to look at Hinata and raised his eyebrows, "Hyuuga, you look---"

"Ridiculous? Like a snowman? Yeah, I know, it was already advertised thank you very much." Hinata snapped scathingly, "I don't need you to tell me something I already know."

Sasuke began to untangle himself from the three girls as he replied to her, "Actually, I was going to say you look like you're going to freeze to death. I do have manners you know."

"To which you use at your own discretion?"

"I see _someone_ didn't have enough sleep on the plane ride." Sasuke had finally finished detaching Sakura from him after much struggle and difficulty.

"What happened to those so called manners you claim to have?" She was still miffed at Sasuke making her sit there on the two hours or so trip from the airport to Whistler listening to Sakura and Ino go on and on about how hard her life was and why everyone was below them.

He shrugged, "You got me there." He turned his attention away from the peeved Hyuuga and to the rest of the girls, "Let's have some fun here for the next few days, shall we?"

The girls cheered and grabbed their snowboards that they had already picked up from the rental centre and began to walk to the lift. Hinata jogged up to Sasuke and tugged on his sleeve urgently, "Uchiha, listen to me, I can't---"

He brushed her off, "Wait until we get up there, okay?"

"B-But Uchiha! I really---"

He turned around and hissed, "I really don't have time _just_ for you, okay? I have four other girls that I have to tend to too, I can't just pay attention to you." With that he left her to catch up with the other girls, leaving her feeling rather offended.

She watched as Sasuke and the other girls quickly strapped one foot onto their boards and quickly skipped the queue and budged to the front of the line. Hinata stared hopelessly down at her snowboard and attempted to haphazardly strap the binding onto her foot. Once she had finished that, she stumbled over to the rest of the group who were having a small argument with the person in charge of the chair lift.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't care if you _are_ the Sasuke Uchiha, there is no way we are able to fit all five of you onto a single chairlift, let alone allow the cameramen on too. It's far too dangerous." The poor man tiredly ran his hand through his thinning hair, "I can only let four onto a lift at a time."

"I'll go alone!" Hinata immediately shot her hand up and volunteered, she_ really_ needed to get away from the rest of this group, she was on the verge of insanity.

"How about the cameramen sit with you too?" Sasuke asked sweetly and motioned towards the cameramen sipping their hot chocolates. Damn him.

The cameramen made slicing noises in the air with their hands, "We can't do that, it's either all of you in a shot, or none. It's part of the contract." They hissed at Sasuke who just shrugged.

"You're on your own then, Hyuuga." He turned his attention away from her, totally ignoring her. She could tell by his crossed arms and turned back that he was angry with her again, what did she do this time? Was it because she had been rude to him? Surely he had withstood even worse remarks before.

She watched as the cameramen, then Sasuke and the girls got onto the lift. Once she got up to the long red line that told her where to stop, she urgently and quickly asked the lift's man, "Could you slow it down, please? And--and could you please tell me how I get off?"

The man sighed and pressed a large green button on the control pad, "You've never been snowboarding I see. Once you've gotten to the top, turn your board and let the lift push you down the hill up there. You just glide down from there."

Hinata didn't get a chance to thank the man as she was swept off her feet by the lift and carried high up from the ground. She quickly snatched the safety bar and brought it down in front of her, no need to raise the chance of breaking every bone in her body even higher.

She rested her elbows on the thin metal bar and watched the beautiful scenery in front of her. The sun had already set and it was now dark, making the city sparkle and shine brightly like a sea of twinkling stars. She wondered if she would ever get to see a sight like this when she went back to the mansion; this right now was her freedom, she shouldn't consider coming here a task so much as a privilege.

After several minutes of admiring the scenery, the end of the lift came in view and she lifted the bar, trembling; the slope that the man had said to glide down was so much more steep than mentioned. Turning her board like he had said, she waited for it to hit the top of the snow covered hill and was immediately pushed off and towards the very steep and very long trail she was supposed to go down on. Panicking, she dug her foot forward into the snow and fell head first into the cold snow.

Sakura's cackle was what brought her back from her self pity and panic and into reality, "Oh my god. You are still such a klutz, Hyuuga." She and Ino collapsed into each other in a heap of laughter.

Sasuke didn't even glance her way, "Shall we go down now?" He had already strapped down his other foot and was waiting impatiently for the girls to join him.

"Yeah!" The girls chorused and hopped over to beside him.

"Er…I-I have to f-fix this…thing. I'll join you later." she smiled weakly and pointed at her poorly strapped bindings.

"Okay." Sasuke snapped his goggles onto his face, "Let's go then." Hinata watched in awe as they zoomed off gracefully down the mountain, swerving elegantly in and out of each other, it was like a dance of sorts.

Once she was sure that they were gone, she clumsily took off the bindings and picked up her board to run to the woman lazily sweeping away stray snow from the hill.

"E-excuse me!" She trotted up to the woman who had returned to her post beside the lift operator and blew a large pink bubble in front of Hinata's face.

"Yeah? Can I help you?" she popped the bubble and continued to chew and blow more bubbles with it.

"Ah…Yes please. I was wondering if there was anyway that I could get down from the mountain." That bubblegum was getting quite distracting.

"You go there." She pointed lazily at the trail that led down the mountain and ignored any requests to slow down the lift from the passengers which resulted in many amusing wipe outs, profanities, and collisions.

"No, you don't understand. I can't snowboard at all, and--and I'm not sure how to get down this mountain without any damage to others and myself." She gently put down the snowboard, that thing could get heavy fast.

The older women finally looked at her and scratched her dark, messy hair, "I see. Well I can't very well send you back down the lift, that would cause too much confusion and possible injury," It was funny to hear_ this_ woman care about the safety of others, she had seemed to be a bit of a sadist to Hinata with all the collisions and injuries she had already caused, "so I guess I'll have to call someone to take you down."

Taking her walkie-talkie out from her breast pocket she pressed down onto the button and barked into it, "K! Get your ass up here, we have a live one."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Give me a few minutes." The crackled and broken voice sounded from the receiver, sounding annoyed and tired.

"You heard him, he'll be here in a second. You can wait in the office if you want." She jabbed her thumb behind her to the tiny one room building that was attached to the lift, "It's not very warm, but there's a coffee machine in there."

Hinata smiled appreciatively at the woman, "Thank you very much. I really appreciate it." She picked up her board and entered the small office; papers were piled chaotically in tall heaps all over the office, coffee stains covered the desk, and bubblegum wrappers littered the floor and desk. She barely noticed the small coffee machine buried under stacks and stacks of paper, there was just barely any room to stand.

Luckily, the lift operator saved her from trying to find a spot to sit by yelling through the open door, "He's here, you might want to grab your board."

Hinata nodded and picked it up again, careful not to step on any stray papers that were on the floor as she walked out of the office and to the lift operator who seemed to be arguing with some other man.

"You dragged me up here for this?"

"I _told_ you we have a live one!"

"I thought you meant severely injured or something!"

"Why would've I said _live_ one if they were severely injured, moron?"

Hinata gave a small cough, "Ahem, e-excuse me? Is something wrong?"

They both turned to her and the man whistled and adjusted his batman toque, "Wow Anko. You never said it was a _girl_. Nor that she was this cute." He bent over and examined her better, grinning friendly, "Pleased to meet you…?"

"Hina---"

"Enough flirting, you're making me sick. Save it for the ride down." Anko watched and grinned sadistically as yet another poor lift passenger dove face first into the soft snow, "And why aren't you wearing a helmet? You're riding a freaking snowmobile at crazy speeds around snowboarders and skiers."

"Aw…You worried about me?" He clutched his hands to his heart and batted his eyes mockingly, "You're too sweet, Anko."

"I'm worried about how much it will cost to fix the damn snowmobile, idiot." She turned to Hinata, "You're going to ride down with him, okay?"

Hinata nodded obediently and looked up at her driver, he looked familiar with his brown hair and always laid back attitude, almost like Kiba. He grinned at her again, "You ready to go down?"

She stared at him harder, this was really bugging her, she _knew_ she knew him. Of course. The batman toque was a dead giveaway. She pointed incredulously at him and yelled, "Kankuro!"

"Excuse me?" He wrinkled his forehead in confusion, "Do I know you? We haven't--uh…hooked up before have we?" He scratched the back of his neck in distress.

"No, no, no. It's me, Hinata!"

"You two know each other?" Anko stepped in, obviously amused.

"I don't think---"

"Of course you don't, silly me." Hinata chuckled "At first I didn't recognize you without the purple makeup."

"Purple makeup? Oh there has got to be a hilarious story behind this that I have to know." Akno laughed and neglected her lift operating duties totally to listen intently to Hinata.

"Purple make---oh god, no." Kankuro's eyes widened in horror, "You were there?"

"Well yes, it was the Halloween office party that your brother--grudgingly--hosted. You had burst in drunk as hell, in a batman costume wearing purple makeup. Once you had established yourself as Gaara's brother, you were immediately kicked out by security." Hinata giggled, "So naturally, I don't think you would remember me, you were hammered beyond belief."

Anko burst into loud cackles and rolled on the snowy ground, "P-purple makeup?" she wheezed and wiped the tears away from her eyes, "I don't think I have ever laughed that hard before."

"Har, har, har. I'm glad you've had your fun. Now I'm going to finish my job and then go down to the bar and try to drown out my memory of that again." He stormed over to the vehicle and revved it into life, "You coming?" He yelled over to the loud engine.

"Yes!" Hinata picked up the board and pointed at it, "But what should I do with this?"

"Give it to Anko, she can bring it down later." He grinned and pulled down his goggles from his neck, "It's not like she's doing her job anyways."

"Okay."

"Wh-what? No!" It was too late, Hinata had already given her the snowboard and had climbed onto the snowmobile, latching her arms hesitantly around Kankuro's waist.

"Ah…Kankuro, I'm sorry that I've offended you for telling Anko that." Hinata apologized earnestly and listened closely to see if he would answer her.

He turned his head around for a second, "That's fine. Anko's not one for gossip anyways. At least I got a cute girl attached to my waist and back in the deal." He chuckled at Hinata's reddening face, "Don't worry, I'm all bark and no bite. Besides, you're Gaara's favourite co-worker, he would kill me if he found out that I did anything to you."

She smiled and listened to him as he chattered aimlessly about pointless things. The ride down seemed much too short, Hinata enjoyed Kankuro's company, he reminded her a lot of Kiba.

"Well, here we are." Kankuro waved in the direction of the lodge, "I hope you enjoy it here in Whistler." He cocked his head sideways, "But why _are_ you here in Canada instead of the States?"

He seemed pretty nice, so Hinata got off the vehicle and told him, "You know that contest, 'Wife Search'? Yeah, well I'm in it."

Kankuro whistled and turned the snowmobile back on, "Well, guess I better warn you that--" The rest of his sentence was cut off by the roaring of the engine.

"Wh-what?" Hinata tried yelling over the loud roaring, but it was too late, Kankuro was already speeding off and waving goodbye to her. Hinata sighed in defeat and waved back to him, guess she would find out the hard way what he was trying to tell her.

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The lodge was warm and cozy, a large fire place was surrounded by other snowboarders attempting to defrost and several cushy chairs were placed around it. Walking over to the cafeteria for a steaming bowl of whatever soup she could get her hands on, Hinata pulled off her gloves and flexed her fingers.

She stood in line patiently and grabbed a tray to put her soup on. Did she even have any money? She checked the small inner pocket of her jacket for her wallet and looked inside. Damn. Only American. Hopefully they would accept that, if not, then---

"No! I told you it's _not_ going to be in the theatre, why would it be there?"

"Because it's a show, idiot."

"A _fashion_ show, moron. There's not enough room in a _theatre_."

Hinata turned her head over to where the ruckus was coming from and dropped her tray and wallet, visibly paling.

It was Kiba and Gaara.

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**AHH!!! ..:Ducks and dodges all knives being thrown from readers:.. I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN SO LONG! I've either been too lazy or too busy to work on it, so I spent all of Thursday (07/05/17) finishing it for you, I even made it longer than usual . I added the slightest amount of the most unlikely pairing in there too (Kankuro X Anko), PLEASE REFRAIN FROM THROWING ANYMORE KNIVES.**

**By the way, I have next to no clue as to what Whistler is like (having never actually been there myself. Hehehe…), so for those of you who have, I apologize for anything that is absolutely wrong about it.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	18. Fashion Show

**Chapter 18**

It was Kiba and Gaara.

What the hell were they doing here? Hinata abandoned her place in the queue and quickly sat in one of the large chairs that was in a secluded corner, sinking in as far as she could into it. Sure Tenten claimed to have told Gaara that she wasn't going to be at work for several months, but what harebrained lie did she tell him? She had obviously told Neji one. And what of Kiba? If he found out that she was entered into a national television show as idiotic as this one, he would surely murder Sasuke. Which might not actually be such a bad idea, but she really didn't want to be responsible for a homicide.

Trying to remember how to breathe, she told herself to calm down, maybe she had just seen them wrong, maybe it wasn't even them. Braving a small peek, she slowly raised her head over the back of the chair to peer at the two. Yup. It was most definitely them. Gaara was the only one she knew with hair that was such a flaming red and Kiba was the only one she knew who hid dogs down their shirts.

She slumped down into her chair in distress, the only thing that would be worse would be---

"Hyuuga?"

She just_ had_ to say that, didn't she?

She looked up to see Sasuke staring at her in perhaps amusement with a mug of steaming hot chocolate held firmly in his gloved hand. Lucky bastard. Pro snowboarder_ and_ a hot chocolate, some things just weren't fair.

"Er--ah…Uchiha!" She greeted in a strangled voice, "S-sit down!" She grabbed his sleeve and yanked him down next to her, narrowly avoiding having hot chocolate spilt down her front.

"May I ask as to why the sudden desire to having me so…close to you?" His whole body was pretty much squished right against her, leaving next to no room to move.

"Please don't flatter yours---" Hinata stopped herself, no need to let him know that her best friend and boss were here, he would probably go and tell them himself that she was competing to be his wife. She gave an uneasy chuckle, "Uh…because my undying love and passion towards you as been suppressed too long?"

He took a slow and lazy sip of his drink, "Please, on my behalf don't hurt yourself forcing to say so." He turned his gaze away from his hot chocolate and towards her, "Besides, your so called 'desire' towards me doesn't interest me."

Hinata gave a low whistle, "Someone's a bit grumpy today, might it be…PMS? I understand that it's an unpleasant experience. Tylenol's really helpful for those cramps, but if you prefer a more natural painkiller, I advise bananas." She rambled on a little longer, hoping to divert the attention away from why she had suddenly asked him to sit with her.

"Stop." That one command stopped Hinata in her tracks totally, "I don't _care_ about all the treatments for cramps. I do care as to why I cannot drink my hot chocolate in peace. So shut up."

"Not even bothering to polite to me when the camera are away? What's got you in such a mood? And why is it whenever you're in a mood, it's when_ I'm_ here?"

Sasuke gently placed his hot chocolate onto the stand next to him, "You want to know why, Hyuuga?" He suddenly leaned towards her with such speed that Hinata had barely noticed he had moved until he was almost over top of her, "Because you refuse to be mine. You manage to seduce me---regardless of whether you mean to or not---then you'll drop me faster than last season's Prada shoes. It's enough to drive a man insane, and I'm fed up with it." He bent even closer to her so that their noses were touching, "Which is why I plan to eliminate you next."

"I--I--" _She_ had managed to seduce him? Hinata Hyuuga? The dorkiest girl who had attended her high school? She suddenly shot up from her seat and screamed at him, "That's a lie!"

All eyes in the large lobby turned towards her. Along with a pair of widened with shock aqua blue eyes and a pair of deep brown ones that locked with her own pale lavender ones.

This was going to be ugly.

* * *

Hinata sat squished between Gaara and Kiba with Sasuke in the seat right in front of her. The fashion show had turned out much better than what Hinata had expected. 

But Hanabi always was one to excel in everything she did.

"Ah…Kiba, Gaara, w-would you be so kind as to allow me to breathe?" They were crushing her with their well muscled shoulders forcing down against her own petite ones.

"Hmm?" Kiba looked down at her and grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, Hinata-chan."

Gaara too muttered a quiet apology before leaning away from her, barely letting her have any personal space; Kiba had done the same thing on the other side of her. Sighing, Hinata dropped her head into her palm, at least there wasn't any blood spilt. Yet.

It had turned out that Tenten actually had informed Gaara of the truth, which might have been the reason as to why there were now no more vases in his office. Hinata looked up to Gaara and gave him an appreciating smile to which he had given her a small, unsure one back. It didn't matter that he didn't know why she was smiling at him, she was just thankful that he wasn't firing her for taking such a long break between her job.

_Kiba _on the other hand had not been informed. It had taken both Gaara and Hinata (Gaara wasn't so willing to, but he too did not want a large law suit filed against him and Kiba) to restrain him from breaking every bone, muscle, blood vessel, and organ in Sasuke's body when he was told as to why Hinata was with _the_ Sasuke Uchiha. After much seemingly ineffective explaining to Kiba, he had reluctantly decided to settle with breaking Sasuke's mug of hot chocolate instead of his face.

As to why Gaara and Kiba were in cold and wet Canada, it turned out that Hanabi was displaying her very first collection of winter clothes after she had finally wormed and struggled her way up into the small circle of prestige that was high fashion. Hinata giggled, it was a very well known fact that both Gaara and Kiba, even though being very good friends, fought endlessly over Hinata's dearest sister.

Hinata felt a pang of hurt and jealousy in her heart, she was not notified of this fashion show until Gaara and Kiba had told her fifteen minutes before hand. Why wouldn't Hanabi tell her about this? Hinata was very proud of her sister's achievements, she would have in fact have given the title of Hyuuga heiress up to her had it not been for Hanabi's free spirit; she wouldn't have appreciated being locked up by the Hyuuga family and unable to do as she pleased. Hinata sometimes regretted giving the job up to Neji, he sometimes looked like he was so tired that he was going to collapse on the spot, but Hinata knew that the choice she made was right, Neji was the only one capable of doing a job such as that.

"Now please give up to the designer of this_ fabulous_ collection, the young, the beautiful, and extremely talented, Hanabi Hyuuga!" Cheers and applause rose from the crowds. Hinata snuck a peek at Kiba and Gaara; Kiba had gotten out of seat and gave a loud hoot of approval, even Gaara was acting more exuberant than usual.

"Thank you, Canada!" Hanabi strode on stage in a beautiful dress that she had probably created herself, a large grin on her face, and a microphone in hand "I'm glad you all enjoy my collection so much!" More cheers and applause erupted, "But the one person I'd like to thank the most who unfortunately was unable to make it;" a fleeting scowl passed across Hanabi's pretty face and her grip on the microphone tightened considerably, "my muse, my best friend, my sister, Hinata Hyuuga!" Many more loud cheers erupted from the energetic crowd.

Hinata felt the tears well up in her eyes, Hanabi actually said that? Nudges were given from Gaara and Kiba, even Sasuke had turned his head to give her a look that said congratulations,-but-how-ever-did-_you_-ever-become-a-muse-to-this-great-designer? all within one raised eyebrow.

As the crowd began to disperse, Hinata just sat there in shock and awe. She could not believe that Hanabi would dedicate her very first collection to _her_.

"Hey, Hinata?"

Hinata looked up at Kiba and Gaara who had already stood up and were standing in front of her, "We're going backstage to see Hanabi, you wanna come?"

"I--I think I'll see her later. You two go ahead." She watched them as they raced towards the doors that led backstage.

"You should see her."

Hinata looked up again to see Sasuke standing in front of her with his hands in his pockets, "You should see her, you're lucky to have a sister that cares about you that much." He brought out a single ticket from his pocket and placed it in her open palm, "It's a pass. Kakashi was supposed to get one for all of us, but being the idiot he is, he screwed up the order and only got two. One of which he sold on eBay at a ridiculously high price."

Hinata looked from the pass and back up at him, "D-don't you want to go?" _I _want_ you to come, I want you to see my sister._

"No. I don't like sissy fashion shows much. I only came because I saw Kakashi come in through the doors with the cameramen when you guys were leaving." C_an't you tell I'm trying to detach myself from you? You're making it difficult._ "Besides, there's only one pass."

Hinata just smiled at him, "Not to worry, I _am_ Hinata Hyuuga after all, Hanabi Hyuuga's muse, sister and best friend."

* * *

Hinata clutched Sasuke's hand tighter, it was so heavily crowded that she thought she would lose him if she let go of her grip even the slightest bit. She finally spotted a small clearing where people weren't crowding everywhere and dragged her and Sasuke over to it. 

"May I ask _why_ you're holding my hand?" _Sasuke_ asked once they had reached the clearing next to the long table of food.

"_Because_ Mr. Uchiha, holding hands usually comes with the whole couples package." When they had reached the entrance to backstage she had thrown a fake hissy fit at the person in charge of checking the passes about how she was Hanabi's sister and this was Sasuke Uchiha, her boyfriend. In the end they didn't even have to use their pass.

"And why did you have to say that we were a 'couple'? Couldn't you just have gotten free and I just use the pass?"

"Because it was _so_ much more amusing to see your face when I had told him that we were a couple." She grinned at him.

"Amusing as a 'couple', huh?" He bent down so that he was face-to-face with her, "Now there's a thought…" He pressed his lips against hers and gave her a passionate and heated kiss that sent tingles all the way down to Hinata's toes.

Once Sasuke had backed off and given Hinata a smug smile, Hinata wiped her lips with the back of her hand, "For a bachelor so heavily longed for by most of the female population, your kissing skills leave much to be desired." The exact opposite was true of what she said, Sasuke's kisses were like a drug to her, always leaving her craving for more even though she knew that they were bad for her health.

"Is that so? I could say the same of you." He gave her a small scowl of annoyance, that obviously was not the reaction he had been fishing for.

Hinata laughed at his look of annoyance, "You really shouldn't do that, a pretty face like yours could get stuck like that, you know."

"And_ you_ shouldn't keep that sadistic little grin on _your_ pretty face. It just doesn't suit you." Sadistic? Did it look like that? It was really just an amused grin.

"And how would you know what suits me?"

"You're far too cheeky for your own good, Hyuuga." Hinata just smiled innocently back at him and resumed her original task, searching for Hanabi.

It wasn't too hard to find her, a large group of cameras surrounded her, along with a large white dog and a tall man with fiery red hair. Nope. Not too hard to miss at all.

"Come on, Uchiha." Hinata grabbed Sasuke's hand again and dragged him over to the crowd of paparazzi and admirers. Hanabi must have been having the time of her life with all the attention surrounding her, she always loved being in the limelight.

"H-Hanabi!" Hinata waved her hand vigorously over the crowd of people, hoping to attract her sister's attention, "_Hanabi_!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm in the middle of something---_Hinata_!" Hanabi roughly pushed the interviewers and other high class designers away from her and wrapped her arms around her elder sister.

"Glad to see you too." Hinata smiled and also gave Hanabi a quick hug.

Hanabi unlatched herself from Hinata and tried recomposing herself, "Why are you here? And where the hell were you?" All joy that Hanabi had expressed earlier was suddenly exchanged with anger and protectiveness, "You disappear for two months without a word, and suddenly you show up in Whistler? Do you know how stressed and panicked Neji has been?"

"I---I---" Hinata was at a loss for words, Tenten hadn't told _anyone_? That woman was _so_ dead when Hinata got back. Once Hinata regained her ability to properly form words, she grabbed both Hanabi's and Sasuke's hands, "Can we please go somewhere more…private?"

Hanabi nodded and brushed off the reporters surrounding them, "I have no more comments."

Hanabi quickly guided them through the crowds of people to a small, empty room that had several comfortable looking leather couches surrounding a low coffee table.

"Now, explain to me---why the hell are you guys here?" Hanabi finally noticed Sasuke who had sat down on one of the couches and set his feet up onto the table, Kiba who was playing tug-of-war with Akamaru, and Gaara who was leaning with his shoulder against the door.

"I'm glad to see you've finally noticed." Sasuke yawned and laid his head back against the couch and lazily stared at the swirling patterns etched into the pastel green roof.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Gaara and Kiba snapped at Sasuke who raised his eyebrow in amusement, it seemed he was easily entertained by drama.

Hinata just sunk her head into her palm, already this had gone from bad to worse.

* * *

**This is a really short chapter because I have a project and several exam due, so I don't have much time to write much more. Sasuke's a bit possessive in this chapter, so I hope I didn't make him seem too antagonistic, but he's feeling a bit (sexually) frustrated at the moment, so bear with us.**

**Oh yeah, before I forget, I have a question, if you replace a chapter with another one, does that mean all the reviews for that chapter will be deleted?**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	19. Lodge

**Chapter 19**

_Hinata just sunk her head into her palm, already this had gone from bad to worse. _

"Oh?" Sasuke grinned amusedly, "Why ever not? Is it because she's perhaps your…girlfriend?"

"No! It's because--because--" Kiba spluttered out as Gaara stepped away from the shadows by the doorway and towards the obviously entertained man, cracking his white knuckles dangerously.

Hinata quickly intervened and jumped in front of the two growling men, "Gaara, Kiba! Please!" They both stopped mid step to look at Hinata who pleaded silently with them to avoid any bloodshed for fear they might have to pay for it.

Snarling, they turned on the smirking Uchiha and gave him a look that clearly stated, "Don't think you're safe yet, pretty boy."

"Are we done yet?" Hanabi asked while flexing her fingers and checking her well manicured nails, "Because I'd like to have an explanation before answering more unoriginal questions generated by those paparazzi." She said paparazzi like she would have said 'poo'. Maybe she didn't like all the attention as much as Hinata thought.

"Ah…well…" Hinata uncomfortably poked her fingers together, a habit she only executed when extremely distressed. Taking a deep breath, she let it all out, "Tententhoughtitwouldbefuntoentermeintothiscontestwhichturnedouttobe'WifeSearch'sonowI'macontestant."

Gaara, Kiba, and Hanabi stared at Hinata, who had turned a very red colour trying to blurt out so much in one breath, blankly. Sasuke only picked up an unusual rock from the glass coffee table and began fiddling with it, completely uninterested with Hinata's outburst.

"Uh…sure." Hanabi sat down on the couch and scooted as far away from Sasuke that Hinata thought she might topple over the armrest and onto the floor. Gaara and Kiba evidently thought so too because they both ran over next to her and stood there, arms ready and twitching in case she did fall. Looking up at both of them and giving them both appreciative looks, Hanabi continued, "You want to actually _try_ to explain it again?"

Hinata gazed uncomfortably at the rock in Sasuke's hand and repeated again in a slower and breathier voice. To avoid any immediate outbursts, she quickly ran over to the sofa and sat next to Sasuke and away from Hanabi and snatched the rock out of Sasuke's hands to fiddle with in her own.

Hanabi looked like she would smash the glass table in front of them, "She _what_?" She hissed, groping for something to throw, "She dared to defile the Hyuuga name by entering you into a contest as petty as _that_?" She pointed accusingly at Sasuke who just grinned mockingly and leaned back to wrap an arm around Hinata's shoulder.

Gaara and Kiba stiffened and got into a ready position to pounce on Sasuke and beat the living daylights out of him on Hanabi's command. Hanabi looked like she might have given the signal to do so too.

Hinata, panicked, didn't know how to end this without any arguments or brawls, so quickly grabbed Sasuke's face and pulled him down to her level to give him an unexpected kiss on the lips. Sasuke reluctantly let her resurface to turn to the gawking love triangle, but not without bringing her closer to sit on his lap.

"S-see?" Hinata said quite breathlessly, "I-it's fine. Don't be angry at Tenten, she only tried to help." Sasuke's wandering hands were beginning to get _ver_y distracting, "And since when have _you_ cared about defiling the Hyuuga name? Gotten over your rebellious phase have you?"

Hanabi snorted and crossed her arms, "I care since I owe them my college funds and the money used to create my first line."

"Oh."

Hanabi sighed, "Yeah."

Hinata felt a pang of sadness in her heart, even though Hanabi had done her best to cut herself off from the Hyuugas, she still managed to be caged. The dark bags (that were skilfully hidden by pounds of well applied makeup) indicated that she barely got any sleep; she looked far too old for an eighteen year old. Hinata hesitantly rested her head on Sasuke's shoulder and stared up at the ceiling ruefully. Eighteen. How strange it was to think of Hanabi being little, Hanabi had always made sure to look after Hinata. It always seemed like a foreign idea to think of Hinata as older.

Hanabi wearily stood up from the sofa, "I suppose I should be getting back." She walked over to Hinata who immediately stood up from Sasuke, much to his annoyance, "I'm glad I got to see you again." Hanabi did something very un-Hanabi like, she wrapped her arms around Hinata in a hug, "We don't see each other enough." She let go of Hinata and smiled, "We should go for coffee sometime." She stretched her view towards Sasuke and growled, "_Just_ us."

Hinata smiled warmly at her, "Of course."

With that, Hanabi hooked her arms between Gaara and Kiba's elbows, "Now you two," She grinned up at the two of them, "come with me. You are now my two escorts. Beat that, Forenza!" She laughed, referring to some other fashion designer. Gaara and Kiba turned beet red, but said nothing.

"Your friends are seriously screwed up." Sasuke said wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his chin on her head.

She didn't even bother disentangling herself from him, knowing that he would throw a tantrum if she did, so instead turned around in his arms and rested her head on his chest, "Yeah," She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, yawning, "But I love them."

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"So _where_ were you two again?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"I _told_ you, I happened to bump into him when I went for a cup of hot chocolate, and then we couldn't find you guys, so came back here." Hinata turned her head and yelled down the dinner table, "Right, Uchiha?"

Sasuke looked up from his steak, "What? Oh, yeah. Exactly."

After Hanabi had left the small room in the back with Kiba and Gaara, Hinata and Sasuke had decided it a good time to finally meet up with the group. Sasuke (surprisingly) had suggested that they keep their one-on-one sessions to themselves due to the fact he (unsurprisingly) did not need (want) Kakashi, Sakura, and Ino nagging him about unfairness.

Unconvinced, Sakura tried again, "But we were exactly where we said we would be, you guys just-"

"Sakura." Sasuke called from across the table looking dead tired, "Please. I'm tired, so drop it. It's the truth." Hinata raised an eyebrow and stopped her chewing for a second; this man had no qualms about lying, did he?

Sakura looked like her wine contained some very sour milk, "I'm sorry, Sasuke." That however did not stop her from shooting angry glares at Hinata throughout the relatively quiet dinner.

After the dinner was finished and the plates and dirty cutlery was cleared off the table, Kakashi appeared to direct them to their rooms in the extremely large lodge they had rented out.

"Okay, each sheet I have has a number on it; it's your job to find the room that corresponds with the number." He grinned and held out a stack of papers, "Good luck."

As each girl scrambled to snatch one of the sheets, Hinata stayed back and waited for the dust to clear before walking up Kakashi and politely taking the last sheet from his outstretched hands. Looking up at Kakashi, she asked, "Is this by any chance another…challenge?"

Kakashi grinned again and patted her head, "You're one of the smart ones aren't you?" He bent down to her level, "But unfortunately, no. It's not." He straightened and took out the same book that Hinata had seen him reading the first day she had arrived at the mansion, "But good for you of thinking of it."

With that, he pushed Hinata off in the direction of the stairs with one hand before stuffing that hand into his pocket and walking away making giggling noises behind his book…among other equally disturbing noises.

Hinata stared at his retreating back in confusion. What a strange man. She sighed and waved off the thought, no time to think about that, she still hadn't even checked to see which number she had been given. She unfolded the paper she had previously crumpled into a ball as she was being pushed away.

34

Was that her room number? She stared up at the winding stairwell. Three floors. Her best bet would be that her room was on the top floor. No use just standing there, might as well start climb the stairs.

After crawling up the deceivingly long staircase, she wandered the floor for a few minutes before finding the room with the thick black numbers '34' nailed onto the wooden door. She opened the door and peered into the spacious room. Surprisingly, her luggage was already neatly laid onto the perfectly made bed. How did Kakashi know she would be residing in the room? Was he some sort of part time magician? It would make sense, no man wore a top hat willingly in public unless they were one.

She kicked her suitcase off of the bed and collapsed onto the cushy bed. Kicking off her shoes, she yawned and grabbed a pillow to snuggle with. It was for some reason so draining to be around Sasuke even the least bit.

Without warning, the door was thrown open to reveal a rather frazzled looking Sasuke. Hinata propped herself up and rubbed her eyes, smudging the eyeliner and mascara. Why was he here?

"Uchiha?" Hinata was too sleepy to even bother to voice her question, so just dropped back against the bed, "Close the door, will you?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, as if confused as to why she wasn't demanding an explanation as to why he had so suddenly barged into there, but closed the door nonetheless. "Aren't you going to ask why I'm here?"

Hinata peeked an eye open in annoyance, couldn't he tell she was trying to sleep? "_Because, _Mr. Uchiha, I'm far too fatigued to poke into someone else's business." She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Besides, you've already asked for me." She waved her hand dismissively, "You may continue."

Sasuke's mouth twitched into a half smile and decided to play along. Lowering himself onto one knee and bowed his head, he apologized, "Beg my pardon, your Majesty, I would not have disturbed you at this hour had it not been an emergency such as this." Hinata raised her eyebrow and took up a queenly position.

"You see, I'm afraid the enemy has found and infiltrated my hideaway, I had no other choice but to find her Majesty and beg for her assistance." He was now on both knees, his lips millimetres from kissing the white carpet.

"Who might the enemy be?" Hinata asked, enjoying watching Sasuke prostrate himself before her.

"It is none other than their Majesties, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka."

For some reason, Hinata could not help but feel absolutely delighted that Sasuke thought of the two models to be enemies. "Well, why choose me? What of her Majesty, Temari Sabaku?"

"Because," He had now stood up and walked over to her where she was now trying to back up as far as possible, only to hit the backboard of the bed frame. Sasuke had now crawled over to her and breathed into the shell of her ear, "I believe her Grace, Hinata Hyuuga, would not be so petty as to take advantage of me."

Hinata's heart was beating wildly, but she maintained a straight face, "Fine, fine, fine." She threw up her arms in resignation, loosing her queenly composure, "But where will you sleep?"

Sasuke had evidently not given up his servant role for he had retreated a couple of inches to gently grab her hand and bring it up to his lips, "I was hoping her Majesty would be so kind as to lend me her bed."

"_What_?!" Hinata yelled, jerking her hand away from his, "What's that supposed to mean? That I sleep on the floor? I don't think so Mr. Knight-In-Shining-Armour."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in surprised, "I didn't mean that, I meant that you could share it."

Hinata opened her mouth to protest, but was beaten to the punch by Sasuke who just leaned forwards and pressed his lips to hers. Once he had finally finished, he pleaded again, stroking her soft hair, "Please?"

Hinata gave him a dirty look, "You're evil, you know?"

Sasuke smiled, "I never said that the side I was working for was good."

Hinata objected again, "But didn't you say that you were going to eliminate me next? Stop trying to confuse me." She mumbled and twirled a stray lock of hair nervously.

Sasuke rested his head on her shoulder, "You must remember, Lady Hinata, that I am only human. A human _male_ too, no less."

Hinata sighed and pushed him off of her, "Whatever." There was no way she was going to win this one, "You can sleep on that side," she pointed at the right side of the bed, "and I'll sleep on this side, okay?" She pointed at the left side and crawled over.

Sasuke nodded, "Good night, Hinata."

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**UWAHH!! It's been so long since I've updated! I hope this chapter makes up for it!**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	20. Snowboarding

**Chapter 20**

Hinata woke to a soft tickling in her ear. Reluctantly, she pried open a bleary eye and batted at the source of wind, only to hit a rather small, soft pair of flesh like cushions. She turned fully around to face the cause of her irritation.

Lips. Centimetres away from her own.

Hinata, not being fully awake, would have screamed if those lips hadn't stirred slightly, giving them the look of a twitching rabbit's mouth. She gave a muffled laugh and re-evaluated the situation (and the face that the pair of lips was attached to).

She stared up at Sasuke's sleeping face, trying to remember the details of last night, something about him trying to escape from Sakura and Ino…and then deciding (_without _much of her own say in the matter) that he would sleep in her bed. With her. Hinata scrunched her face in mild annoyance, pushy little jerk.

Yawning, she gave Sasuke's shoulder a light push, "Ger'up, Uchiha,"

Sasuke frowned in his sleep and slapped away her hand as if it were an annoying fly, "Go away, I don't _want _any newspaper subscriptions…" He murmured incoherently.

Fed up with having to go through with this situation again, Hinata threw off the blanket that was covering the two of them and screamed into his ear, "WAKE UP!"

Sasuke jolted up and knocked heads with Hinata painfully with a loud _smack_. Both victims of the head butt groaned in pain and fell back against their pillows. Sasuke fumbled for the thick comforter to hide away under while keeping one hand clutched tightly to his forehead, "What was that for, Hyuuga?" He moaned louder.

Hinata wondered for a second too before stabbing his chest with her index finger, "It's time you left, I will_ not_ endure Sakura and Ino's whining and bitching just because you were too much of a coward to do so yourself. Now get out." She jerked her thumb to the door.

Sasuke turned around onto his side and looked up at the bright red digital numbers on the alarm clock, "What…the…fuck? It's five in the morning! Are you insane?" He cried and dove deep into the blankets.

"All the more reason to get out of here before Ino or Sakura notice!" She stormed to the door and held it open, "Get out!"

Sasuke glared at her, "Fine." He ripped off the blanket and stormed shirtless towards her.

Shirtless? She didn't even notice that he wasn't wearing one last night. She felt the blood come rushing to her cheeks even though she knew that she shouldn't still be shy of shirtless men.

"You know, there is a reason that pyjamas come in sets of two." She said staring just over his shoulder, determined not to look at his chest. Though the thought kept getting more and more tempting.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "What self respecting guy do you know does wear a shirt to bed?"

Hinata stopped and thought for a moment, remembering a survey that Sakura had once done for an assignment in high school. It had mostly consisted of her going around and flirtatiously asking all the guys in the class who wore shirts when going to bed. Every guy had answered yes except for one and Hinata suspected it might be because he had been a bit chubby.

"But _still_--"

Sasuke only bent down to whisper in her ear, "But you know, I wouldn't mind seeing you only wearing half the set. It wouldn't matter to me which half."

Hinata felt her head would explode from all the blood pounding through her head, "Time for you to go!" She yelped, her voice an octave or two higher than it usually was, and grabbed his arm to drag him out, not daring to touch any of his naked torso for fear she might do something she would regret.

She slammed the door behind her, half expecting him to yell back at her, but only heard his footsteps drawing farther and farther away. She sighed and slid down onto the floor to fall asleep right there.

* * *

Hinata was surprised to see Sasuke at breakfast with them several hours later; usually he would only join them for dinner or outings. Cautiously, she slipped down to the opposite end of the table of where she thought Sasuke would sit when he asked them to be seated. That plan unfortunately didn't go as well as Hinata would have hoped, Sasuke had instead just ignored the other seat altogether and sat down next to her.

He smiled at all the girls who tried to cover up their annoyance and sourness at having to wake up at such an early hour, "Today is unfortunately the last day we will be spending in Whistler, so I'd like to make it special by devoting all my time today to spend with you." Small cheers erupted from Sakura, Temari, and Ino.

Hinata spoke up by posing a hopefully valid question, "What will we be doing? Will we be doing more s…snowboarding?" She hesitated on the last word as if it would lash out and bite her head off.

Sasuke frowned at her, obviously wanting to unveil that himself, "Yes, and we might go down to the village too."

The village. That sounded bearable. She poked at her waffle, "Will we have to snowboard altogether?" She asked quietly, hoping Sakura and Ino would not jeer or make anymore fun of her obvious lack of snowboarding skill.

Sasuke knotted his eyebrows together, "What? You think I can just leave all the girls to spend time with _just_ you?"

Hinata impatiently shook her head; did he do this on purpose? "I _mean_, do _I_ have to snowboard where you guys are snowboarding?"

Sakura beat Sasuke to the punch by retorting, "What? Are we not _good_ enough for an ex-Hyuuga heiress?"

Hinata's mouth opened in a 'O' of horror, how could she have forgotten that Sakura knew that she was originally the initial heir to the Hyuuga corporation? "I—I don't know what you're talking about." Hinata uncomfortably fidgeted and took up the job of memorizing every object in the room except for the people.

Sakura gave an out of character snort, "Of _course_ you wouldn't. Spending your life cowering behind your cousin is a pretty pathetic way for a_ Hyuuga_, especially the heir, to live, isn't it?"

"Sakura," Sasuke turned towards her, his eyes slightly narrowed, "I understand that you and Hinata might have had some quarrels in the past, but I would appreciate if you didn't insult anymore people who are also my guests, please."

Hinata's mouth opened even farther, Sasuke was…_defending_ her? She looked down at her glass of orange juice warily, what did the cook put in here?

"I—I…" Sakura's almost unrecognisable rage seemed to put her at a loss for words, "…ap…apologize for my…rudeness to you…Hinata…"

Hinata gave a small nod and meekly looked up at Sasuke with the corner of her eye, the look he gave her clearly stated that things were not over between him and her; he obviously had not known that she was such an important Hyuuga when he picked her.

The rest of the breakfast finished as uneventfully as the beginning had been eventful. Hinata secretly hoped that Sasuke would never again join them for another surprise meal.

* * *

Hinata took a deep breath and looked down the hill; she _would_ try it, even if it killed her. She balked again, that last thought seemed so plausible.

After breakfast the whole crew had headed back to the rental shop and continued their usual routine in there of busily rushing to get gear and clumsily putting on boots and other equipment. Hinata had eventually managed to beg with Sasuke to let her go alone to snowboard, but not without many nasty glares that could probably kill a baby penguin at first glance.

Hinata looked around, they were early so there were quite few people on the slopes yet and even fewer on the slope she was on due to the fact that this was the easiest, less steep and shortest slope on the mountain. That was good, less people to seriously injure and less people to watch herself utterly humiliate herself.

Taking a deep breath, she glanced down to see if the binding on her board were securely strapped then gave a little hop forward to push her off and down the hill.

The wind whooshed past her so fast that tears formed in her eyes making her already obscured view even worse. She screamed shrilly, hoping that that would cause any bystanders to jump out of her way. Sadly, one unfortunate man had been bending down to adjust his bindings and was knocked right onto his back with Hinata fallen on top of him, gasping for breath.

"I'm s-so…sorry!" She panted and wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"Déjà vu…" The man muttered quietly, snapping Hinata back into reality.

"P-pardon me?"

"Nothing," He looked up at her and gave a lazy smile, "Why hello, Hinata."

Hinata finally looked him in the face and let out a breath of relief, "Sh-Shikamaru! I'm so sorry for crashing into you like that! I really didn't mean t—why are you here?" She suddenly asked, climbing off of him.

"I do have to drive you around up here, aren't I allowed to enjoy myself while I'm staying here?" He asked, sounding much like Shino.

"I—of course!"

"But," Shikamaru tilted his head to the side, "Why are you here alone? Aren't you supposed to be with the rest of your group?" Hinata could almost here the quotations dripping off the last word.

"I am…" Hinata chose her words carefully, wondering if Shikamaru would laugh at her inability to snowboard, "But they chose too difficult of slopes for me to go on with them."

"You can't snowboard?" Hinata would have thought he was mocking her if she didn't know that he talked like that all the time.

Hinata frowned, "No, I can't. Now if you're just going to tease me like the rest of them, you can just leave now." She snapped at him and pulled off her bindings to drag the board back up the hill.

Shikamaru threw up his hands defensively, "I never said I was going to tease you." Hinata eyed him, giving him an okay signal to continue, "If you want, I can teach you."

Hinata beamed at him and gave him a quick hug, "That would be great."

"Ah…okay." He said uncomfortably and adjusted his jacket.

* * *

"Okay, face me and steady yourself," Shikamaru backed up and gripped her hands tightly, "Now slowly lift the front of the board."

Hinata furiously shook her head, "I—I'll fall!"

Shikamaru sighed exasperatedly, "I will not let you fall!" He brought up his hands that were firmly gripping hers, "See? Now just tip it upwards a bit…there!"

Hinata had tilted her board backwards a bit, giving it the slightest bit of room to slip forwards, "I did it!" She gasped and lessened he grip on his hands.

Shikamaru nodded, "Good, now let's do that all the way down the hill."

"_What_?" Hinata cried, "Are you insane? One miracle is enough, don't you think?"

Shikamaru tugged on her hands so that she was looking him straight in the eye, "What, do you not trust me?"

Hinata shook her head, "No! It's just that—"

He grinned, "Then follow me."

Unwillingly, Hinata clutched onto his hands the rest of the way down the hill and continued to tip her snowboard little by little until she had reached the bottom.

"Thank you so much," She jumped as much she could while having a large board strapped to her feet and hugged him again, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can do it!"

Shikamaru gave a lopsided grin, "Uh…you're welcome." He looked down at her seriously, "You have to try to do that again. _Without_ me."

Hinata's jaw dropped in horror, "You _can't _be serious."

"I'm dead serious, you'll never learn if you always have to count on me." He finally slowly slipped his hands out hers and gave her an encouraging smile, "You trust me right? Now trust yourself."

She reluctantly completed that task, along with several other ones before she felt that she finally got some sort of hang of it.

"I think I've got it!" She said excitedly to Shikamaru who gave a smug grin in return.

"I told you." His smug expression wiped off to reveal a quick glimpse of a proud one, "Do you want some hot chocolate? I can get some for us while you practice."

"That," She smiled at him, "Would be wonderful."

She watched as Shikamaru disappeared over the small hills and began his impossibly long trek back to the chalet before picking up her board to start her own trek up the small slope.

Several times down the slope later, Hinata felt confident enough that she could go even faster down the hill without having to stop every few seconds to reposition her board. Tilting the board further into the center, she pushed off and was met with that overwhelmingly familiar sound of wind rushing past her.

She screamed wildly and crashed yet _again_ into a chest of some poor soul. Groaning, she looked up and stared into the shadowy orbs of none other than Sasuke Uchiha himself.

"U—Uchiha!" She cried, still too confused to move, "W-why are you here?"

"So this is where you went," He mused quietly and chuckled, "If you had only said that you couldn't snowboard, I would have let you go without _much_ complaint."

"Who said I can't snowboard?" Hinata huffed indignantly.

"The fact that your on the smallest slope on the mountain and that you crashed right into me at a speed that seemed impossible on such a small hill." He answered matter-of-factly.

"Well—well-" She spluttered, but was cut off by Sasuke's smiling lips kissing her own.

"I _do_ enjoy making you shut up." He smirked.

"I—"

"_Get a room_!"

Hinata leapt off of Sasuke and spun around to find the source of the voice. It was some kid making crude and sloppy slurping noises. Hinata turned a bright red and was suddenly pulled to her feet by Sasuke, "Come on, let's do just that."

"_What_?" Hinata shrieked, horrified, "_No_!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Fine, no need to get so upset. Let's go to the chalet then."

Hinata gave a quick look at the top of the hill, it _had_ been a while. Maybe she had misheard Shikamaru and was supposed to meet him _at_ the chalet…

She nodded, "Okay, let's go."

They walked to the top of the hill and Hinata gave a low gasp. There, lying in the snow, was a pair of Styrofoam cups that had just freshly spilt steaming hot chocolate into the snow.

* * *

** Er yeah...the baby penguin thing was kind of random. But still TWENTY FREAKIN' CHAPTERS!! YEE-HAAAW!!**

**Ciao,  
MissLe**


	21. I Love You

**Chapter 21**

Hinata bit her thumbnail nervously and sat down across from Sasuke. Taking a deep and unsteady breath, she blew lightly across the surface of the steaming hot chocolate to cool it down somewhat.

Bringing the mug up to her lips, she stared miserably at what little ceramic mug she could from the corner of her eyes and chugged the scalding liquid in hopes the searing pain that traveled down her throat would provide a distraction to her worrying question.

What had happened to Shikamaru?

She was one hundred percent sure that those two cups of hot chocolate had been from Shikamaru, but what did it _mean_? Had he been run over by an escapee snowmobile? Had he seen her with Sasuke and gotten mad that she had been conversing with the man that he loathed? Had he been jealous for some reason that Hinata couldn't understand? _Had he seen them kissing_?

She glared up at the striking young president of Uchiha corporation through her thick bangs, all logical reasons seemed to point to him.

Sasuke finally glanced up at her and returned her frown, "What'd I do now?"

She quickly shifted her gaze back to her hot chocolate, "Never mind." She said quickly and reached for the muffin sitting between them, "You mind?"

He waved his still gloved hand dismissively, "I didn't buy it for myself, you looked hungry when I found you." Hinata only rolled her eyes and greedily began tearing small chunks off of the carrot muffin to pop into her mouth.

He watched her nibble on the corner of the muffin and put down his hot chocolate, "You were the Hyuuga heiress," He said, not posing it so much as a question than a statement that needed confirming.

Hinata nearly choked on her muffin as she blinked several times and tried to digest the question, "Yes. I was." She tried leaving it at that, but was sorely disappointed when Sasuke asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked." She said simply.

"I'm asking now."

"Well you've gotten your answer, haven't you?" She said forcefully and taking large chunks out of the muffin to chew furiously on, "What more do you want?"

He got up and sat next to he on the couch, "I don't want to get you upset," He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, to which she pushed off of her. He sighed and yanked her roughly onto his lap in annoyance. She struggled in his tight grip and finally just gave a grunt of frustration, refusing to move at all and sat stiller than a stone. Sasuke loosened his grip and whispered into her shoulder angrily, "Why do hate being near me?"

She shifted uncomfortably and leaned back an inch, "Because you're too…forward." She said and entangled her fingers with his, "I don't like it."

He gave a husky laugh, "Would you spend any time with me otherwise? Would you have kissed me first?" He pressed his lips to her palms to prove his point and chuckled when she winced.

"N-no. I wouldn't have." She admitted and squirmed so that he wasn't breathing down her neck anymore.

"You're not used to being near people like this," He realized and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Hinata was barely aware of this, she was surprised by this realization also. It was true that Naruto had been very touch feely, but Sasuke's feelings and touches were so much more _intense_. She was pleased to know that it wasn't because she still felt worried about Naruto that she didn't like him up in her face all the time.

Sasuke let go of her and let his arms go limp at his sides, "I guess I'll let you go for today." He sighed dramatically, "It always hurts to let go of your favourite plaything." Hinata gave a gasp of rage to which he just lightly kissed her pink cheek and smiled, "Just kidding."

She made a face and shifted her body so she was sitting on his lap sideways, smiling genuinely up at Sasuke, "Thank you." She chastely kissed him and scuttled off of his lap quickly.

He snatched her wrist before she could stand up and tilted his head in the direction of the door, "Stay here, please?" He asked with unbelievably persuasive eyes.

Hinata glanced at the door and gave a pained expression as she watched an incredibly angry Sakura, Ino, Temari, and Kakashi storm into the chalet with the cameramen, earning them more than just a stare or two from the surrounding guests and customers. She looked back down at Sasuke who had closed his eyes as if praying. Resisting the urge to scream at him and the surrounding people, she fell onto him as much weight as she could, hoping to injure him somehow.

"Why do you keep asking me to do this?" She hissed and kicked his shin irately.

"Because I have something to prove." He whispered, too pleased for his own good.

"Wh--"

"Sasuke! Hyuuga!" Sakura shrieked and ploughed through the small crowd of people to reach the two, her nostrils flaring and her eyes menacingly narrowed, "Why--the--hell--were--you--the--only--one--with--him--bitch?" She seethed and kicked the couch each time harder and harder after each lividly gasped word.

Hinata shrunk against Sasuke, hoping that the earth would rise up and swallow her up before she had to endure Sakura's frightening wrath. Sasuke calmly patted her back reassuringly and eyed Sakura coolly, "Your temper, I'm sorry to say, Sakura, leaves much to be desired."

That made the model even more furious, her pink mouth opened in an outraged 'O' to scream even further, but paused and calmed herself to give Hinata a satisfied smirk, "Well, Hyuuga, enjoy it while you can, because it won't last long, believe me."

Sasuke made a low snarling noise from deep in his chest and look he might snatch Hinata's cup of hot chocolate and hurl it at the arrogant woman staring smugly at the both of them. Hinata quickly got up off of Sasuke, and said lowly, "Maybe you're right. Maybe I won't be lasting long," She picked up her Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate and whispered when she walked past Sakura to a fuming director, "But it doesn't seem like you're doing so well yourself."

"Honey, you don't even know half of what's really going on." She tossed her bubblegum pink hair behind her back and strode over to Sasuke to eagerly clutch his arm.

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Hinata meandered about a few feet behind the group of gushing women to fully take in the adorable scenery around her. She smiled and looked up at the clouded and snowing sky relishing the cold biting into her cheeks with each snowflake falling against her pale skin. The houses and shops down in the village were too quaint for words with their large open windows, beautifully carved wooden doors and charming red shingles on each roof.

She sighed contentedly and was grateful for her brief distraction from Sakura, Shikamaru and her…whatever was going on between her and Sasuke. She clasped her hands together behind her back and grinned impishly at Sakura's figure.

She trotted up to behind Sasuke and wrapped her arms around his slender body to murmur into the back of his neck, "Uchiha, I'm cold."

Sasuke turned around and grinned discreetly at her, more than willing to play along, "Come here, I guess I can _try _to keep you as warm as best I can…" He unhooked her arms from around his waist and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to his warm chest, "Better?" He asked.

"Almost." She said and quickly unbuttoned his jacket in front her fellow gawking contestants, quickly slipping into it beside him as soon as she had finished. She shivered against him, she had never done _anything_ this mean and naughty before, it made her feel bubbly inside instead of guilty. She looked up at Sasuke's amused face, "I think I'm better now, unless this is inconveniencing you?" She pouted her lips slightly in hopes to look more persuasive.

"Of course not," He held her closer to him, unwilling to have her away from him for even a mere moment. Or at least it felt like that to her. Her giddiness was almost explosive, after the realization that she actually liked having Sasuke close to her made her feel like Naruto had not even made a small cameo into her life, it was…

Almost like the wound had healed.

No, that wasn't right, it was more like it was _gone_, like the injury and whatever had harmed her (in this case Naruto) hadn't even existed. Hinata had to take deep breaths to slow down her breathing and try to make her spinning mind go blank after another dawning realization hit her like a three hundred fifty pound, raging bull.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke looked down at her dizzy and frenzied expression, "You still cold?" He clutched her, if possible, closer and rubbed her arm vigorously up at down to warm it up.

"Sasuke, I…" She looked up at him with widened pale eyes, "I…"

"What?" He now looked annoyed, "I'm trying to warm you up, if that's what you're asking." He rolled his eyes, ignoring the disappointed and angry looks shooting from the other women after he had cut them off to pamper Hinata even more.

"I…" She broke into a smile that felt like it would break her face if another millimetre were added on to it, "I love you." She snatched his collar and pull him down to kiss him firmly on the lips.

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Hinata slowly pulled the brush through her already smooth hair again, dazed. The whole afternoon after she had confessed to Sasuke had been like that, every little thing that Sasuke did for and to her seemed magnified by a thousand times. She even felt _pleased _when Sasuke had said that tonight would be elimination, it would mean that their would be less girls to monopolize him in front of her. That being he didn't eliminate _her_ tonight.

"Hey, Hinata." A deep voice rumbled softly behind her and interrupted her brooding.

Turning her head, she glanced up at the tall figure of Shikamaru's and felt relieved, putting down her brush, she smiled, "Hey, where were you? You suddenly disappeared," She pouted and smoothed out the creases of her dress.

He looked away with a look of revulsion plastered across his already sour face, "Why am I so surprised?" He slammed his hands on the vanity table in front of her and hissed at her "You chose _him_."

Hinata backed away on her seat and croaked, "What?"

"You chose him!" He flipped the table over, staining the white carpets with the vividly coloured makeup. He roared, "_Why did I think you were different? Why did I think that you wouldn__'__t fall for him?__"_He paced and spun around to face Hinata who was curled up in her chair, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

"_I _met you first, I met you before you even entered this fucking contest!" He placed his hands on the armrests of her chair and glared at her, "I met you at the fair, remember?"

Hinata stared into his eyes, realizing that they were the exact same ones that she had looked down on when she had crashed into that man after meeting Naruto at the fair. She widened her eyes, "It was you," She whispered and shrunk back from his terrifyingly large body.

"Yes, it was me," He hissed and leaned further in, "It was me who you met _first_!" He jolted upright and continued to pace in silence for a moment before whirling back on, "Do you actually _love_ him? Or did you just say that to piss Sakura off?" He asked pleadingly.

Hinata sat up straight and regained all composure she had lost when he had stormed into the room, "I love him. No joke." She stared him right in the eye, then faltered, "Wait, how did you know about Sakura--"

"You can come in now." Shikamaru smoothed back his pony tailed hair and reverted back to the lazy and laid back Shikamaru that Hinata knew.

"What? Who--"

The door opened to reveal a stoic looking Sasuke. He took a small wad of bills from his pocket and tossed it to Shikamaru who caught it inches before it hit his face and deposited it into his pocket.

"Well, my job here is done," Shikamaru shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets, preparing to exit the small room.

"Didn't have be so dramatic about it," Sasuke muttered and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I don't know how I'm going to clean this room up before the other girls come in." He sighed, referring to the backstage makeup room that Shikamaru had thoroughly trashed during his rage.

"Wait, wait, _wait_!" Hinata stood up and waved her arms about in a flustered manner, "What the _hell_ just went on here?" She glared at the two men who had the decency to at least look a little bit sheepish.

Shikamaru shrugged, "Sorry, Hinata, I really did actually like you in the beginning; but I found someone else now." He scratched his neck nonchalantly and tried leaving the room again.

"_That doesn__'__t explain anything_!" Hinata shrieked in frustration.

"I'm sorry, Hinata," Sasuke sighed and plopped into one of the chairs in the room, "But I paid Shikamaru to see if you only said that you loved me to infuriate Sakura."

"Like I said, I did really like you in the beginning, but I've found someone else now. Ciao." He waved his hand and quickly departed the room before Hinata could object again.

Hinata sat and gawked at Sasuke, "Why didn't you just ask?"

He shrugged, "I wanted to make sure that you weren't one of those money whores."

Hinata sat with her mouth moving around wordlessly before she recovered her ability to speak, "You…you…you thought I was after you because of your _money_?" She took deep breaths to avoid freaking out even further.

"Hey, I couldn't be sure," He said defensively and stood up, "But I'm sorry for doubting you." He walked over to her and placed a light kiss on her cheek, "I'll see you after."

He left her sitting in the chair feeling warm and fuzzy all over. He said that he'd see her after. She relaxed and slumped back against the chair, at least that meant she would have another month left to spend with him.

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**Er…I'm back? **

**OMG I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON. I promised you guys this chapter like, four days ago, I'M SO SORRY!!!!**

**P.S. Thank you for those few people that actually stayed true to the SasuHina pairing. I **_**told**_** you not to get your hopes up for those who prefer the ShikaHina pairings.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	22. Bankrupt

**Chapter 22**

Hinata flew down the stairs as fast as she could without tripping on her dress and heels and falling flat on her face. Damn, she hated how huge this stupid house was. Stopping to lean against the wall and catch her breath, she gave a pained expression, she felt like such a bitch.

Temari had just been eliminated.

Hinata took off her shoes and began to sprint, how did this happen? She had been sure that it would've been Ino that would have left, _why Temari_? Temari had been the most tolerable out of the three of the other girls, the smartest, and definitely the kindest too; and here Hinata was, Ms. Biggest-Slut-In-The-World-Next-To-Sakura. God, she felt like such a whore for kissing Sasuke like that right in front of her.

When did she begin to get like this? When did she stop caring what people said about her and when did she begin to trample all over people's feelings? First Shikamaru (Well, not really. But still, he _had_ said that he had originally liked her), then poor Neji who still might not even know where the hell she was, and now Temari.

Finally, a familiar bobbing head of straw colour hair came into Hinata's view, causing her to push her limits to catch up to her. Waving her arms frantically, she cried, "Temari! Temari, wait!"

Temari continued to walk at even fast pace, not even turning around to acknowledge that Hinata was nearly killing herself to catch up with her. Giving one last spurt of energy, Hinata pumped her arms and launched herself at Temari, causing the both of them to tumble painfully to the hard ground.

"What the hell?" Temari shrieked and attempted to free herself from Hinata's impossibly tight grip, struggling and screeching profanities the whole way.

"I'm--so--sorry," Hinata gasped and clutched tighter at Temari's legs, "I--don't--want--you--to--be--mad--at--me," Tears began streaming down Hinata's face, "Don't--hate--me--please."

Temari whipped her face around, "Oh, yeah? What exactly is there _not _to hate?" She kicked her legs out of Hinata's grasp and roughly brought herself up onto her feet, "I mean, you've been a liar, dishonest, as bad as a bitch as Sakura, and a _whore_!" Temari screamed and clenched her fists into tight balls at her sides.

Hinata burst into a new fit of tears, "I know! I'm a bitch, a liar, and a whore!" She gripped Temari's dress desperately, "But don't--please don't---hate me anymore than everyone else already does."

Temari ripped her dress out of Hinata's hands and picked up her suitcase, "Goodbye, Hinata." She said in a frosty voice and walked briskly out the front doors.

Hinata slumped down into a heap and watched for what seemed like hours after Temari had slammed the doors closed, moving her mouth wordlessly in shock, agony, misery and numerous other emotions Hinata had deemed far too self destructive to even name. Shaking her had as if to brush them away like they were only pesky flies, she stood up and resolutely began to storm to the front doors; she didn't care if she had to sneak away in a cab to find Temari, she would confront that girl and…and do what?

Hinata almost paused, what would she do? _Force_ Temari to accept her apologies? Before she could actually rush back to her room and hide under her covers until someone came and found her (Or until she died. She was fine to work with both), she yanked open the doors and almost fell back onto her backside at what she was witnessing.

Temari and Shikamaru on the hood of the limousine in a rather…compromising position.

Shikamaru was the first one to notice Hinata gaping at the doorway and quickly untangled himself from Temari, "Uh…hi, Hinata."

Temari shot up from the hood of the car and adjusted her straps, "Oh. Well. I guess cat's out of the bag now." She sighed and pecked Shikamaru on the cheek, "Too bad, I was kind of hoping it would last a little longer."

"Wh-what's going on?" Hinata managed to spit out before slouching against the doorjamb for support.

"Ah…so you haven't explained to her anything," Shikamaru sighed, "You really are a bitch."

"Shut up, lazy ass." She smacked him playfully in the stomach to which he groaned and lied back against the hood of the car.

"Temari?" Hinata asked, unsure of what else to say.

"Yes?" She smoothed down her hair and checked her reflection in one of the side mirrors.

"What was that?"

Sighing, Temari stood up tall and looked Hinata right in the eye, "Hinata, I want you to know first of all, _I__'__ve never loved Sasuke_. Never."

"Ex-excuse me?" Hinata slowly walked over to Temari, afraid that any sudden move would cause the blonde Sabaku to scamper off with the answer to the question that was swirling through Hinata's mind.

"You heard me, I've never liked, loved, or even tolerated the man; he is such a pompous prick." Temari sneered at her reflection in the car window, "Honestly, what do you see in that man?"

"But why are you _here _then?" Hinata cried, her voice decibels from becoming a wail.

Temari sighed and looked at her feet, "Gaara's been having financial trouble at the restaurant, I thought if I could marry into a rich family or something, it would ease his stress. This contest was heaven sent."

"_Gaara_?" Hinata's jaw hung suspended in midair before she tried refiguring out what was said in slower words in her head, "Gaara as in your brother? _My boss_? What'd he do? Lose a couple million dollars? That's _nothing_ compared to what he has, Temari!"

"You don't understand," Temari whispered and leaned against the limo, "Our father was supplying most of the funds for our business and he had died recently, not leaving a single cent in his will to us. Our home, our cars, our bank accounts. Everything." She clenched her fists tightly, "Bastard."

"But--your business makes enough money as it is to supply you guys _forever_!" Hinata clutched at her dress, this wasn't making any sense.

Temari's head shot up, "Look, my father was the one who owned the business, Gaara only ran it. And now that he's sold the business, Gaara doesn't _Gaara does not own a single cent_. Get it now?" She clutched tightly at her dress trying not to let any tears spill down her cheeks.

"Gaara doesn't…" Hinata's voice trailed off, Temari's outburst suddenly sinking in. She gave Temari a concerned look, "May I ask who owns it now?"

Temari shrugged limply, "The Akatsuki, some illegal underground company that needs some honest way of making a good living to get the feds off of their case and back."

Hinata wrapped her arms around Temari and cried in place of her, whispering softly, "Temari, I promise I will do anything I can to help you guys." She backed away and quickly wiped away the tears, giving Temari a weak smile, "Good luck."

Temari gave a half smile, "Thanks, Hinata." She gripped Shikamaru's hand as he popped up next to her. Giving Hinata an apologetic look, "Sorry for being such a bitch, I was just stressed, I needed someone to take this all out on."

"I understand." Hinata gave her a small wave as Temari turned around and slid into the back of the limousine. She gave Shikamaru a grin, "You sir, should become an actor. Your performance earlier was quite believable." Her grin dropped slightly, "Be nice to Temari, she's in a fragile state right now, okay?"

Shikamaru grinned back and saluted her, "Thank you, lieutenant. Will do, lieutenant."

"At ease, soldier." She waved goodbye to him to as he got into the car and sped off at a much slower pace than usual. Good for Temari. She could at least reign him in a bit.

She turned around, her eyes narrowed, she believed it was time to confront a certain raven haired Uchiha about a certain elimination.

* * *

"Sasuke, _stop_, already! I know you can hear me!" Hinata panted and violently kicked off Tenten's shoes to run faster and launched herself at Sasuke so that she had wrapped her limbs around his back in a haphazard piggyback.

"What--the--hell--are--you--doing--Hinata?" Sasuke gasped and clutched at Hinata's arms that were cutting off his air supply.

"I'll let go if you just stop running away!" Hinata yelled and pulled tighter at his neck to prove that she was serious. She grimaced to herself. What a lovely way to begin a relationship.

"Fine, fine, _fine_! Just…_let_. _Go_." He managed to flip her over his back on his own so that she crashed painfully on the cold hardwood floors. She gave out a cry of pain and howled when Sasuke tripped over her splayed legs and landed on top of her carelessly.

"I think you broke something." Hinata moaned and gripped onto his shoulders tightly, digging through the soft material of his shirt and into his skin, hissing.

He gently lifted himself off of her and held out a hand, "Sorry. Can you get up yourself?" He looked at the floor, avoiding her eyes

Hinata almost gave a small smile, he was a lot more tolerable when he wasn't being an arrogant jerk, and he was _much _more adorable when guilty too. She lifted herself off onto her elbow and winced, there were going to be some unpleasant bruises after this. Looking up at Sasuke, she slipped her fingers into his outstretched hand, "I think…I might need some help." She admitted.

He lifted her onto her feet with ease and caught her when she yelled out in protest and felt her feet give out from beneath her. She whispered into his chest, "I think I might need more help."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned around, crouching forwards. When he saw Hinata hesitating, he shook his head in annoyance, shaking away stray pieces of bangs, "Hop on. I'll give you a piggyback."

Hinata chuckled as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and let his arms slip under her legs, "Isn't this what got us into this predicament in the first place?"

He snorted, "Ha. Listen to yourself, 'predicament.'" He speeded up his pace until he reached the small hallway that Hinata recognized as the one that Sasuke had cornered and bullied her.

Suddenly it dawned on her why he was even in that hallway in the first place.

_Hinata__'__s eyes shone with curiosity and excitement, __"__Which room__'__s yours?__"_

"_If I told you, then it wouldn__'__t be a secret, not would it?__"__ He teased, making Hinata pout in response. He finally gave in to her pout and continued with a sigh, __"__Eleven. It__'__s room eleven.__"_

E**xi**stence

**xi**

XI

Eleven

"Oh. I get it now." Hinata whispered and stared up at the quote above the globe.

Sasuke glanced at her and then up at the quote, then chuckled, "I forgot I had told you what my room number was. It took you long enough, and I practically had to tell you myself to." He shook his head in mock disappointment. He put his hand on the bumpy globe until he reached Japan and pulled down on it as if it were a handle.

A door swung open to reveal a bright room with wide, open windows and rows and rows of books on a shelf next to the large bed in the centre. Not much else, though. Hinata looked around, soaking up the room. She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, feeling like she was more in a library than a bedroom due to the many books surrounding her, "This is _your _room? Even usually?"

He nodded.

Hinata whistled, "It's…nice. Why'd you bring me here instead of my room?"

"Your room's too far. Besides, this is the only room in the whole house, excluding bathrooms, that have no cameras."

"Y-you mean my room has cameras? Where I get _changed_? _Where you slept in the same bed as me_?" Hinata said in an almost-scream.

He nodded and turned around when he reached the bed to gently drop Hinata onto the soft bed. She yelped and fell backwards onto her back, cringing, "I think you bruised my tail bone."

"Sorry," He muttered again and fell backwards onto the bed beside her, linking his fingers and resting them on his stomach after. He turned his head to face her, "I'm sorry about your foot too."

Hinata tore her face away from him, "Are you sorry about eliminating Temari too?" She mimicked his position and stared up at the ceiling.

She could hear Sasuke sigh, "Listen, Hinata, it's _my _choice who stays and who goes. Your say, I'm sorry to say, does not count. Would you rather I would have eliminated _you_?"

"No," Hinata said slowly, he was right, this wasn't _her _contest, "But I'd like to know why you eliminated Temari of all of the girls, why not Ino? Or Sakura?" She finally turned back to face him, "You don't seem to like them that much." She added in a whisper.

"You're wrong." His gaze hardened as he stared at her, making her wonder if she said something wrong. She quickly turned her head away, regretting looking at his stone-like face and hearing his equally stone-like words. Fingers cupped her chin and turned her head back to face Sasuke, his had face softened. Staring at her lips, Sasuke whispered, "I _hate _them."

"Oh. Because, you know, that makes perfect sense. Eliminate the girl who you can actually tolerate." Hinata rolled her eyes, but made no move to remove his fingers. If she was going to get used to him being close to her, she would do it one by one in small steps.

"Listen," Sasuke said sharply, "It's not that simple, okay? And besides, I heard her talking on the phone about how she only needed me for the money. She didn't even like me a little. _Me_. Can you believe that?" He grunted, but quickly asked in a slightly panicked voice, "She's not a lesbian, is she? I've had enough of gays for one lifetime." He shuddered, remembering Haku.

"There is nothing wrong with gay people!" Hinata said sharply and narrowed her eyes, "And no, Temari is not gay, in fact, she has a thing for your chauffer."

"_Shikamaru_?" Sasuke cried out in indignation, "That's a bruise to the ego." He muttered and faced the ceiling again.

"Besides," Hinata said quickly and changed the subject, not wanting to cause Shikamaru to lose his job, "I didn't like you at first either. You knew that from the very beginning."

"Yes, but you weren't after my money, you were tricked into this contest." He grinned at the ceiling, "Plus, you are so much more entertaining than those other girls. They're just so…_dull_."

Hinata sat up, "Fine. Whatever. I'm going back to my room now." She stood up and collapsed onto the floor. She looked up at Sasuke and whimpered, tears in her eyes from the pain, "Okay. Maybe you actually did break something."

* * *

Hinata sat on the hospital bed and tried ignoring the cameras that surrounded her, they were really grating her nerves by now. She knew she had signed a contract agreeing to all of this, but _come on_! She had been drunk at the time!

She was grateful when Kakashi poked his hat topped head into the room and whispered to the cameramen, "Listen, Ino's having a little catfight with one of the café workers, you might want to catch that." The cameramen quickly rushed out of the room to follow Kakashi and ignore Hinata completely. Not that she was complaining.

The room had only had several seconds of peace before Sasuke sauntered into the room looking guilt ridden. He looked at her, "Sorry for breaking your ankle."

Hinata shrugged, "I guess I shouldn't have attacked you like that." She patted the spot next to her on the bed, "Sit down."

Sasuke obliged and sat down, staring at the coffee in hand, "You want some?"

She shook her head, "You don't have to feel entirely guilty. But a little is fine. Builds character."

A wry smile finally emerged on Sasuke's lips, "Sarcasm a second language to you?"

Hinata smiled back, "Nope. Mother tongue."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but closed it immediately and reached across Hinata to roughly grab a magazine that had been laying next to her on the little table to the side for a while now. His eyes widened, then narrowed and he stood up abruptly. "Excuse me." He murmured through gritted teeth and stormed out of the room, leaving Hinata confused and slightly offended.

She looked at the cover and was surprised to recognize the face poorly hidden behind the rim of a pinstriped hat. Wasn't it that guy in Sasuke's photo album?

Itachi?

* * *

**Ha. I really haven't dedicated myself as much to this story as much as usual, have I? I could use the lame excuse, "My life's been busy as hell." but it would be a lie. I've been lazy and uninspired.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	23. Intermission

**Quick Recap**

_Temari had just been eliminated._

_-_

_Sighing, Temari stood up tall and looked Hinata right in the eye, __"__Hinata, I want you to know first of all, I__'__ve never loved Sasuke. Never."_

"_Look, my father was the one who owned the business, Gaara only ran it. And now that he__'__s sold the business, Gaara doesn__'__t. Gaara does not own a single cent. Get it now?__"_

_-_

_She looked at the cover and was surprised to recognize the face poorly hidden behind the rim of a pinstriped hat. Wasn__'__t it that guy in Sasuke__'__s photo album?_

_Itachi?_

**Chapter 23**

Hinata limped to the table with her crutches and sat down next to Sasuke at the table trying not to wince to hard when her foot slammed down against the floor carelessly. It was not only the pain that made her cringe, but the fact that the poor guy already felt extremely guilty, no need to make him feel even more so. She was saving that card for a rainy day.

She had turned to ask Sasuke as to why he had thought putting pie on the dinner table was such a good idea (it wasn't as if any of the girls even touched it), when she noticed the hardened and stony look on his face. His eyes were narrowed with anger and irritation, his right fist tightly gripping the butter knife, and his lips pulled back into a thin, straight line.

Hinata instead lightly laid her hand on his wrist and asked softly, "Hey, is everything okay?"

Sasuke slowly turned his head, his eyes still raging violently, "Why is it that you women always think that something is wrong?" He snapped at her, spitting out the word 'women' like it were a bad taste left in his mouth and ripped his hand away from her light grip.

Hinata stared at him, mouth agape. What the hell? So much for that guilt trip. She didn't even _do _anything! It was his fault that Hinata's foot was now bound up in a heavy and awkward cast that made loud clunking noises whenever she moved it.

She stared down at the spaghetti she had recently piled onto her plate dismally, did it have to do with that magazine? Several seconds after Sasuke had stormed out of the hospital room, Hinata had been interrupted from trying to read the magazine when a nurse had walked briskly into the room and rudely snatched the articles right out of Hinata's hands and walked back out without a word.

Once Ino and Sakura had stopped bickering amongst themselves, Sasuke pulled a strained smile across his lips that looked more like he was in pain than pleased. He stood up from his seat and picked up his wineglass, "Ino, Sakura, and Hinata." He nodded his head to each of them in recognition, "I'd like to make an announcement."

Clearing his throat, he continued, "First of all, I'd like to congratulate you _luscious _women on making it into the top three. You've all been so entertaining." He raised his glass to them, to which Sakura and Ino smiled coquettishly back.

Hinata merely rested her hand in her palm and raised her glass unenthusiastically, 'luscious?' '_Entertaining_?' What the hell? Since when did Sasuke use the word _luscious _to describe them? And entertaining? What was with that? She gave loud and conspicuous laughs that were poorly disguised as hacking coughs.

Sasuke didn't even turn his head to acknowledge her, "But, I'm sorry to say, we will be having a little…intermission, if you'd like, starting tomorrow. It shouldn't last more than three weeks." His face was still stony even as Sakura and Ino gave small pouts and whines. What had happened that had made him need to make up an _intermission_? It wasn't in the contract (she had read the thing enough times to know), she knew that much.

After the meal was finished, Hinata limped slowly back to her room, even more curious now as to what that man had to do with Sasuke. Did he owe him money? Was he the reason they were having this 'intermission'? She had almost reached the door when Sasuke jumped out of the shadows and picked her up gracelessly to throw her across his shoulder without so much as a word and left her crutches out in the hall.

"Wh-what are you _doing_, Uchiha?" Hinata yelped, startled to say the least.

"Listen," He closed the door behind them and carefully sat her down on her bed, kneeling down on the ground in front of her so that he was level with her shoulders. He clutched her hands loosely and looked steadily into her eyes, "Hinata--"

"Should you really be doing whatever this is here? With the cameras?" She waved vaguely towards the ceiling where she assumed the cameras were.

He grumbled in irritation, "Yeah, I suppose not." He picked her up again so that her knees bent around his arm while the other one supported her back and walked into her bathroom, setting her lightly down onto the closed toilet seat.

"I could've walked in by myself. You know, if you _hadn__'__t _thrown away my _crutches_!" Hinata barked and gripped the edge of the toilet seat tightly.

Sasuke kneeled again and rolled his eyes, "You are _so _slow with those things. I swear, I waited fifteen minutes for you to get down here before I deciding abducting you would be the best choice."

"Patience is a virtue, Sasuke." Hinata clucked her tongue and shook her finger in front of his face.

"Hah. Who needs patience," He lightly bit her finger, "When I've got money, women and power?" He gave a feral grin, his words lisped due to her finger blocking his tongue.

"Sasuke!" Hinata blurted out and yanked her finger back out of his mouth, clutching it close to her chest. Her eyes were wide, she still wasn't used to his forwardness. Gulping, she brought her hand back to the toilet seat and asked, "So, what did you drag me in here for?"

"Oh. Right." He looked disappointed, "I just wanted to make sure that…" He hesitated and rested his head on her knee, mumbling incoherently.

"I--I'm sorry, but I can't understand a single word that you're saying." Hinata laughed softly and lightly patted his head, unsure as to how handle the situation. She glared at his head jealously as she stroked it, if only her hair were as soft and lustrous.

Sasuke looked up and stared straight into her eyes as he did before, "I wanted reassurance that you wouldn't be…cheating on me while we have this intermission."

Hinata let out a soft laugh again, "If anyone should be asking that question, it should be me. You have nothing to worry about, I'm not about to be cheating with anyone. I don't believe that there are many men out there willing to cheat with me too."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat up so he was eye level with her, "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"I'm an _idiot_---?" She was cut off by a surprisingly chaste kiss to the lips. He backed away quickly and rested his head back on her knees, "Never mind. It doesn't matter." She could tell that he was laughing at her even with his voice so steady.

He stood up suddenly and gave a vague wave goodbye, "Well, I'll see you in a couple of weeks then."

"What? No forcibly passionate kisses? No cuddling?" Hinata asked, dramatically bringing her hand up to her forehead in a fake swoon.

He grinned impishly, "Well…you know I would, but we would be here _forever_." He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively and enlarged his grin when Hinata only rolled her eyes and flushed pink.

----------

"Tenten!" Hinata screamed and dropped her bags to delicately wrap her arms around the now larger woman, careful not to squish Tenten's watermelon-like stomach.

"Hinata!" Tenten gushed and squeezed much harder than what Hinata suspected would be good for the baby. Who was she kidding, this was Tenten and Neji's child, it would probably escape with only a slight bruise if a boulder were dropped on it.

"I was so surprised when you called us to pick you up." She patted Hinata concernedly on the shoulder, "I thought for sure you would win. But that doesn't matter, just goes to show you how much of idiots men really are, passing up a catch like you."

"I'm not eliminated. Yet." Hinata quickly added, hoping that it wouldn't jinx her, "We're having an 'intermission,' or something like that. Sorry I haven't explained anything, and on such short notice too." She apologized sheepishly.

Tenten laughed, "No problem, I'm glad to have you out of the Ice Prince's clutches. Besides, it gives me more time to spend with you." She grinned, then added solemnly, "You haven't succumbed to his charms yet, have you?"

Hinata laughed nervously, "What can I say, I'm a sucker for the jerks." Which wasn't totally true. In fact, she wasn't sure why she even liked him as much as she did, but whatever the reason, it wasn't because of his rudeness.

Maybe it was because…she felt that he actually needed her, not something sappy like he appreciated every aspect of her or he would protect her through thick and thin. Maybe it was because it was that simple as having someone just _need _her for no apparent reason, that she felt so drawn to him.

She felt especially silly now that she had told him that she _loved _him, she wasn't even that sure if what was said was true anymore. Whether lust or love, it felt good, much better than what had been between her and Naruto before.

"Hinata!" Tenten whined, "You weren't supposed to do that! You were supposed to--" She stopped midway through her sentence and waved her hand, "Whatever, you're a big girl, I'm sure that you don't need someone to mommy you and can take care of yourself."

Hinata smiled gratefully, the long plane ride had worn her out and she didn't think she could handle any lectures and scoldings. She watched as Tenten picked up one of the large bag with ease and quickly snatched it away from her, "I don't think so, you're pregnant." She said matter-of-factly as if it answered everything.

"Yeah, pregnant, not paralyzed, I can handle a couple of bags. Besides, you're the one with the sprained ankle." Tenten pouted and reached to grab one, "You're acting like Neji."

"He means well, I'm sure." Hinata whispered and gasped when she slung one of the bags over her shoulder. These bags were a lot heavier than they looked.

As they passed a large office building (Neji had parked a couple of blocks away to prevent any denting or scratching of his newest addition to his car collection) Hinata nearly fell face first into the ground, she was so shocked at what was she was staring at.

It was a billboard. A very _large _billboard. A very large billboard of Hinata draped across Sasuke's chest in a very…provocative manner. She quickly dropped her bags and issued a long, shrill scream, her grey eyes widening further, and further until she felt they would pop out.

"What the hell?" Tenten stopped in the middle of her stride and whirled back to Hinata, "What happened?"

Blubbering, she pointed up at the billboard, fearing the worst, "Neji's seen it hasn't he? And Naruto. And father. And Hanabi. And Kiba." She bit her lip and grabbed at her hair, pulling at it in distress.

"What?" Tenten looked up and dimmed a little, "Oh. Um…Yeah. They have. Neji's not exactly pleased with me, Hanabi laughed, Naruto and Kiba have been phoning non-stop, and your father…" She trailed off and uncomfortably wrung her hands.

Tenten's lack of description confirmed what Hinata already knew would come. Her father was 'disappointed' in her. He would most likely phone her as soon as possible to tell her she was a disgrace to the Hyuuga name, a blemish on their otherwise pure slate of wholesomeness, tell her stuff that she already knew, already had been told before.

For once Tenten was out of encouraging support, she didn't know what to tell the girl that she hadn't already told before, "Let's keep going."

"Yes. Let's." Hinata whispered and dragged the bags behind her, keeping silent until they reached the sleekest car on the street.

"Hello, Neji." She greeted Neji quietly after he had rolled down his tinted window, "It's nice to see you again." She gave a small smile, begging mentally for him not to say anything. It was degrading enough to see the billboard in it's full glory along a busy street like that, she could imagine that billboards weren't the only places either; newspapers, magazines, bus stops…

"What the hell were you thinking, Hinata?" He hissed at her. It was obvious they hadn't the telepathic connection that she had been hoping for.

Tenten sat down in the passenger seat and mouthed a "Sorry." to Hinata and shrugged to say that she had tried and couldn't do anymore.

"I wasn't thinking." She didn't want to pin more blame than necessary on Tenten, she had probably already gone through that whole thing already, "And I'm sorry. Can we go now?"

"That's not---" Neji began, the beginnings of spluttering working its way into his speech.

"Neji, stop it, okay?" Tenten lightly placed her hand on his wrist, giving him a pleading look, "Just drop it."

Neji took one last disapproving glance at Hinata before returning his gaze to the more or less empty street before him and gripped the steering wheel tightly. Hinata said nothing and dumped her bags carelessly into the popped trunk and quickly slid into the back of the car feeling even sorrier for herself than before.

The ride back to the Hyuuga mansion was relatively short and awkward, every time it looked like Neji would ask something or clear his throat, frightened glances would dart his way from Hinata's direction and he would shut up, it continued like that the entire ride.

Before Neji had a chance to say anything, Hinata bolted as fast as she could without her crutches and with a sprained ankle from the car once it was parked in the garage to her bedroom. Once her destination was reached, she closed the door behind her and looked at the neatly made bed. She really felt terrible that she had to intrude on her cousin and friend like this for another three weeks, it didn't help that the baby preparations were beginning (that's what she had gathered from the smell of paint coming from the room filled with unpacked boxes next to her) and she was acting like a brat to Neji who was really trying to do what was best.

Taking out her cell phone, she lied down on the bed and quickly dialled the number before she decided against it.

----------

"Why, hello there, Hinata." Gaara leaned against the doorframe with arms crossed against his muscular (not to mention bare) chest and looked down at her through shaggy red hair.

"Hello too you too, Gaara." Hinata greeted quietly and stared at her feet. No matter who it was, attractive men without shirts always managed to get her flustered.

Attractive was a fairly good summary of Gaara; he had bright cerulean eyes that were usually rimmed with dark bags which oddly enough seemed to fit his whole calm, unfazed attitude, soft red hair that at the moment was in the need of a hair cut, and a body that showed he worked out regularly.

Hinata had never really considered Gaara in anyway other than a very good friend. He had always treated her fairly and with kindness (the very thing that usually got her in trouble with co-workers; but she would never trade his friendship up for anything), to which she desperately tried to be kind back, she always felt that her kindness could never compete with his. When she had come to him, desperate for a job, he had given it no questions asked, when she had invited him to her wedding when he was all the way in Hong Kong for a business trip, he had dropped everything the moment he had heard to come down. She didn't know how to repay kindness like that.

"So you actually came. Hadn't really expected you to. What's with your foot?" He gave her an amused look before moving out of the way to let Hinata through with her lightly packed luggage.

"It's a long story." She mumbled and scowled, "Thank you so much, I feel that my debt has been raised up even further." Hinata sighed and looked around at the foreign apartment. It was much smaller than his previous one. Much. The last one had been a penthouse in the pricier section of the city, this one was a barely middle class one bedroom apartment next to a busy street downtown.

"You still keeping track? I told you to forget about that." He walked over to the table in the centre of the dimly lit apartment where boxes upon boxes were stacked. He beckoned her to close the door and come in further, "I just made dinner, you want some?"

"I…" She hesitated, she had already imposed on his living space, but saying no to Gaara's cooking was a near impossible feat that she had never accomplished before, "…I would very much like that."

She left the suitcase where it was and ventured further in; the smell was driving her insane, she had never tried Gaara's Indian food before, now she supposed would be as good as any time.

Once Gaara had kicked a bunch of the boxes off of the table and she had sat down, he rested his elbow on the table and pointed his fork at her, "So, care to explain now why you requested to be my roommate for the next…what was it? Three weeks?"

Taking a bite of her lamb, she sighed, she was wondering when this question would come up, "I…I guess I was running away from Neji, I don't want to deal with him right now. I'm tired of being scolded."

He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, "Standing up for yourself for once? A bit selfishly, I must point out, but even that's a first." He glanced at her, "Do they even know?"

Hinata looked around the apartment uncomfortably, "Um, probably not. Yet. I left a note for them."

Gaara laughed, "Let out all of your suppressed rebel _now_, will you?"

She gave a small smile back, "You've gotten much more…relaxed since I last saw you." Saying that was a bit of an understatement, ever since she had entered the apartment she kept wondering if this was really the same Gaara Sabaku that she knew.

He raised an eyebrow, "Does it show?" He shrugged, "I suppose Temari told you what happened with the company, right?" Once she had nodded, he continued, "Well, all that paperwork and pressure was just too much for me, I was honestly a bit relieved when I found out. Temari of course thought it was the end of the world, but she's always been like that. Did you know that this last week since I've been laid off has been the first one where every night I've gotten at least six hours of sleep? Sometimes eight." He relaxed against his chair and took another thoughtful bite out of his lamb, "Temari of course thought it was the end of the world, but she's always been like that. Want some more rice?"

No. No she had not. She had assumed that his laying off had been terrible news from Temari's meltdown. Instead of saying that, she merely shook her head and congratulated him on his wellbeing before scooping up more curry rice from her plate into her spoon.

"You're right. This is worth congratulating, maybe even celebrating. I'll go get the champagne." He got out of his seat to shuffle through the boxes and produced a dusty and aged looking green bottle of champagne.

"Well, here's to my not-so-fitful nights of sleep and the new café I opened yesterday!" He took out two glasses from the same box and came back to the table, right next to Hinata.

"You opened a café? That's great—eek!" The newly opened champagne bottle had popped, its released contents spilling all over Hinata, thoroughly soaking her shirt and skirt.

"Shit!" He cursed under his breath and quickly ran to grab napkins. Stopping himself inches way from bending down to try to dry her shirt, he flung the napkins at her and backed away, "You know what? I—I doubt that's going to do any good. I'll get you one of my shirts and a pair of…boxers or something." He stumbled away towards his bedroom.

"But I have clothes I can change into, Gaara!" Hinata stood up from her chair, not wishing to dampen and ruin his new furniture.

"Don't worry about it." He said hastily, not even turning around and only acknowledging it with a wave of his hand before disappearing into his bedroom only to return minutes later with a grey shirt that Hinata assumed would be much to large for her and—she could not help but blush furiously and the next mentioned item of clothing—striped satin boxers.

"Here, I'm so sorry about your clothes," Gaara apologized in a flustered manner as he raked his hand through his red hair, "I'll pay you back for them."

"Don't worry about. Consider the food and rent_ plenty_ payback." She smiled and shakily received the boxers and t-shirt he handed her to run into the bathroom to change.

She emerged a minute later, blushing. Spreading her arms out and giving a small twirl she murmured, "I--I think these are a bit too…large." It was true. She felt ridiculous in the shirt that hung off one shoulder and exposed a bra strap and boxers that kept threatening to fall down at any moment.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just that your stuff needs to be dry cleaned, right? You can just toss that into the wash, thought it might be easier on both our accounts." He looked back down at his food, "I'm not very hungry anymore, you?"

Truthfully, she was, but seeing Gaara's uncomfortable and fairly distraught face, she shook her head, "Ah…no. Not really."

"Okay." He took the remainder of the food and scraped it into the plastic garbage bin. Hinata watched forlornly as it fell it chunks into the plastic bag within. Maybe she should've just told the truth.

Once that was done, he looked around the small apartment, "I'm not sure where you'd sleep…you can take my bed. I'll just sleep on the couch."

"No! I'll take the couch!" She waved arms quickly in protest, "I'm the one barging in on your living space and eating your food, it's the least I can do."

He gave her a crooked smile, "Hinata. I insist. You're my guest. Go ahead and just take it."

She looked down at her flexing toes before giving a shy glance up at Gaara, "Thank you." She snatched her luggage before quickly trotting up and giving him a quick peck on the cheek, "Good night."

"Good night." He murmured back and turned around to grab a blanket from a random box, "Good night."

----------

Gaara groaned at the insistent knocking on the door and rolled over, who the _hell _was pounding on his door at this hour? He rolled off of the couch and stumbled up to the front door, growling and murmuring threats and many painful deaths to the person who dared to disturb his rare slumber.

"What?" He barked, his eyes only half open.

"Hey, Gaara, you look pretty good and well slept for a guy with insomnia." Naruto's cheery voice woke him up nearly immediately.

"What do you want, Naruto?" He barked and growled when Naruto slipped in quickly. What had he done? Was this a cruel form of punishment? God knew he loved Naruto as a brother, but that was the problem, brothers tended to be painfully annoying.

"You think I can use your bathroom, Gaara? I really gotta take a piss." He did a small dance and clutched his crotch area.

Gaara covered his eyes with a hand and waved the other, "Just go! Don't do that!"

He grinned and ran off in the exact opposite direction of the bedroom. The sudden realization dawned on Gaara as his eyes widened and he shouted, "Not that door, Naruto!"

Too late. Naruto had swung open the door to Gaara's bedroom and was currently standing with his fists and jaw clenched seething silently. Gaara groaned and covered his face with his hand.

He was certain the end result of this would not be pretty.

----------

**It's short for such a long break, but I was tired of this chapter and always fixing things, so here you go. BTW, Sasuke won't be showing up for another chapter or two. Sorry.**

**Ciao, **

**MissLe**


	24. Cafe

**Chapter 24**

"Um, hi, Kyo." Hinata smiled politely and took out her security card, "The elevator won't admit me, I was wondering if this card was void and I need a new one."

He glanced at her and took the card, flipping it through his fingers while smiling forlornly, "I'm sorry, Hinata, but I'm afraid this isn't a valid card."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, puzzled.

"It means you no longer work here. I'm sorry if you hadn't gotten any notice, but being gone so long can only do you so much good, especially with a new boss in town." He gave back the key card and crookedly smiled, "It was really nice knowing you, Hinata."

Hinata took card and clutched it to her chest dazedly, what had just happened? She was _fired_? Meaning, without employment? _Let go_? She vaguely remembered thanking Kyo as she exited through the revolving glass doors. Where would she go now? She wandered the streets in a haze, sure, she could mooch off Sasuke if she won (which she was actually fairly confident may happen), but she didn't want to seem like a gold digger, because it certainly _wasn__'__t _true.

She finally realized what was happening when she was being gripped by the wrists in the middle of the sidewalk being shook not to gently. Shaking her head she quickly shot her head up to meet familiar cerulean eyes.

"Oh. H-hello, Gaara." Hinata carefully removed her hands and rubbed her eyes that were beginning to get much too leaky for her liking.

"What's wrong?" He tilted his head to the left slightly, "I don't usually see you this…out of it." He shifted the paper bag in one arm and brushed away bangs that were dangling in his eyes.

"I--I'm…" She looked up at him and gulped, breathing as deeply as she could, "…I'm fired, Gaara." She began hyperventilating, "I don't know what to do, I--I can't find a job so soon, I'm going to be broke!" Her knees began to wobble as hysterical words began spitting out of her mouth erratically and tears poured out of her eyes.

His eyebrows tucked together in an apologetic manner, "I'm so sorry Hinata, I didn't know if they would fire you or not. I didn't have a choice." He tucked the bag under one arm and held her up by his firm grip on her forearms, "Come with me to my café, I'll treat you to some biscotti and coffee, alright? Now wipe up your tears and follow me, alright?"

Gulping for air several times, she nodded and complied, gripping the back of his shirt like a child to let Gaara part the heavy traffic of people with his imposingly giant body. His affect on other people was at times amusing, cold blue eyes that were capable of out staring anyone, usually thinly drawn lips, broad shoulders, and large muscular build. It was handy when she was being harassed by fellow--ex--co workers, one look from him and they would go scampering back to work with their tails between their legs.

"Right here," He walked through a small waist high gate that surrounded a small shop that was on a corner of a less-than-busy street and a lesser-than busy street and took out a key to open the glass door to the cafe. Small round tables that littered both inside and outside of store were surrounded by two to three antique looking metal chairs; each table outside were sheltered by crisp looking white umbrellas while each one inside had a single white or red rose in a glass vase in the centre.

She turned around several times to get a better view of the entire shop, eyes widening with admiration, "Gaara…this is really something." She twirled once more and faced him, "Congratulations, I'm really impressed." She gave him a smile and sat on a bouncy navy blue couch in the corner nestled snugly between the corner windows.

"Good. I spent the whole time you were gone in here renovating, setting up, readjusting, finding the right furniture and a shit load of other stuff." He collapsed in an ungraceful heap in the identical loveseat across from her, "I…I didn't really get much help with this either, what with Hanabi touring the world, Kankuro off in Whistler screwing around with co-workers, and Temari being god knows where."

Hinata suddenly felt an over whelming wave of guilt rush over her as she listened, maybe 'Wife Search' wasn't such a great idea anymore. If she was being honest with herself, it was just one way to run away from any responsibilities of her real life. She sat up straighter, "I'm sorry, Gaara." She pleaded softly, "I really am. I wish I could've helped you out."

"It's okay, really. I don't blame you at all." He gave her a crooked smile, "Besides, I had Naruto to help me with all of the dirty work. He always came over in his spare time anyways. Thought I might as well make him get off his ass and stop feeling sorry for himself." He glanced at her and pursed his lips, "Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened this morning, I hadn't meant for it to happen, but do you think you could…talk to him or something? He's feeling really bad about everything right now."

Hinata ran a finger across the velvety couch, "I--I'm afraid of him…I don't like being around him. Being around him makes me…angry, and I don't like being angry."

That morning had ended just as Gaara had predicted, Hinata had blown a fuse after seeing Naruto and threw the first thing she found--which was the phone--at his face. Thankfully, her aim had never been very good, and Naruto's dodging skills had been excellent, leaving only the phone and wall to be damaged. He had said nothing to either of them and stormed out of the apartment with one enraged glare at Gaara.

"Just let him vent his feelings to you, please? I don't think you even have to talk to him, only listen to him rant. He has a lot to get out there." Gaara took one last chance at pleading for Naruto at the sake of his own dignity. That man owed him _big_

"Not today, please." Now it was Hinata's time to whine and beg, "I don't think I can, today hasn't exactly started off great."

He smiled, "Of course. I'm just asking _eventually _would you do that?"

"Of course." She smiled back.

-----

By the middle of the day, the café had much more customers than Hinata expected would come. Nearly the whole café was filled and already she was nearly over her head being the only person other than Gaara working there.

"How did you manage it all by yourself?" Hinata asked while handing a pumpkin scone to a middle aged lady who was balancing a bawling child with one arm.

Gaara shrugged and topped the lid on a caffeinated beverage of sorts before handing it to an anxious looking college student, "Well, half the time I had…Naruto working here with me. I'm not sure if he'll come today though." He looked at the doors grimly and the glided a damp cloth against the counter top.

As if on cue, Naruto's blond head appeared from the door, bells jingling to announce his presence, "Sorry I'm late, Gaara. You wouldn't believe how bad traffic was. Honestly, at eleven in the morning too."

He finally glanced up and locked eyes with Hinata who had promised herself not to throw anything at him. He gave her a pained look and dropped his coat on a hanger next to him, giving a muttered, "Oh."

Hinata whipped around to face Gaara with hands gripping the counter ledge tightly, "Gaara," she hissed, "What is he doing here?"

The redhead shrugged, "He comes when he's free, I don't really know when he's going to drop by."

Naruto had made his way up to Hinata and gripped her wrist loosely enough that she would be able to rip it out of his grip, but tight enough to let her know she was serious, "Listen, Hinata, we _really _need to talk."

Hinata bit her lip and glanced at Gaara who nodded his head in encouragement. She looked back at Naruto reluctantly and hesitantly nodded at him, "Okay." She knew it too.

He pulled her into the back and let go of her wrist, running a hand through his unruly blond locks, "Listen Hinata, I'm sorry, really. I didn't want you to be so…hurt. I didn't even mean to do any of that, but you know how I am."

Hinata slumped against the wall and pressed her hands it, "Naruto, I'm not going to take you back if that's--"

"No, that's not what I'm trying to do." Naruto interrupted, "All I want are two things. One, at the risk of sounding cliché, is your forgiveness, I really do want to be friends anyways."

Hinata wrinkled her nose, it couldn't hurt to. Nodding, she agreed, "O…okay." It surprised the both of them how willing she was to do so after all the fighting she had done with him to avoid any contact with him.

"And secondly…what the hell are doing sleeping with Gaara?" Anger flared in his normally jovial face, "Don't you think that's really low? You and I just broke up, then you go off and screw around with…_Sasuke_." He spat out his name angrily, "Gaara's the closest thing I have to a brother and family, I swear I will never forgive you for hurting him."

Hinata blinked, she wasn't used to being in this position, not with Naruto. Slowly, a laugh bubbled up from her throat, making Naruto's face an even darker shade of red. She shook her hands in front of her defensively, "Listen, you have it all wrong. I am _not _sleeping with Gaara." She paused a moment to remember what it must of looked like to Naruto when he walked in on her.

"He let me stay with him for the next little bit until I return to…'Wife Search'." She explained, "Besides, you of all people know that anything between Gaara and me is strictly platonic." She looked down at her splayed fingers, "I know why you hate Sasuke, but…why does he hate you?"

Naruto gave a grimace, "I don't blame him really."

"Hey, you guys…alive?" Gaara poked his head through the door, "Just making sure you haven't killed each other yet."

Hinata gave a small bark of laughter, "No. Not yet."

"Good, it's getting really busy and I would appreciate it if _my employees who I am actually paying_ would hurry up and get their asses out to help me." He popped back out and Hinata watched him from the back room smile charmingly at another customer.

-----

_Itachi Uchiha, son of one of the world__'__s most successful businessman, Fugaku Uchiha. He had left the business in hopes that his father would receive an early retirement and disappeared only after a year of gaining the company on his eighteenth birthday and making it even more profitable than it had been before, whereabouts of the young genius are currently unknown_.

_Several years after his disappearance, tragedy struck and Fugaku Uchiha had been found in his office with a slit throat. Dead, at the age of forty-three. His wife, Mikoto Uchiha, who had already suffered from mild mental disabilities, committed suicide at the loss of both husband and eldest son. _

_Their youngest son, Sasuke Uchiha at the ripe age of seventeen inherited the company and is the still the current president of the Uchiha corporation._

Hinata frowned and leaned back in the comfortable office chair. That had been the most well-informed and accurate article she had come up with so far. Her frown softened and she couldn't help but feel so…miserable. She couldn't imagine how Sasuke must've felt. Taking over a company at seventeen? He couldn't have even completed high school!

And his parents…losing them to such gruesome reasons, it must have been such a traumatic experience losing all of your family like that. Hinata brought up her knees and tucked them under her chin, lost in thought.

The door opened and Gaara poked his head in, "Hinata, are you finished? Dinner's ready and I need to use the computer."

Hinata quickly exited the screen and nodded, "I'm coming."

As she left the room, she suddenly felt a strong wave of nostalgia rush over her. Family feuds and angry disputes that were settled quietly outside of the prying eyes of the public. Hinata clutched her head with one hand, it seemed Sasuke and her had a lot more in common than she had thought.

**-----**

**I think….shorter chapters will be better. It'll probably mean quicker updates. So…yeah.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	25. Coward

**Chapter 25**

"Here you go."

Hinata took the offered bag and smiled at the cashier, "Thanks." She walked briskly out of the store and looked around the long, busy hallway in the mall. She bit her lip and decided to go left, the direction of the food court; she deserved something to eat by now.

Normally shopping (especially at a crowded mall such as this) was not something Hinata enjoyed and usually did, the last time she had came there had been a big fiasco between her and another customer over a (now that she looked back on it, it had been quite hideous) brightly coloured summer dress. She figured though, that since it had been so long since she had been shopping and that Gaara had gone furniture shopping without her that it was a necessary evil to endure. That and after a week of having her cast removed, the doctor said she should try doing some light walking on it.

The food court, much like the rest of the mall was packed full of people taking full advantage of a lazy weekend afternoon to shop their hearts out. Hinata sighed, another reason as to why she hated shopping, she always managed to hit the mall at the busiest time of day. She looked around for a moment and finally took note of a single free table. She raced to it before the grungy looking man eyeing it from several feet away from it could snatch it before her.

She let out an overly dramatic sigh and sunk into the booth comfortably, not such a great day to finally confront her fear of heels and wear them in. She lazily rolled her head to the side to eye her many bags of clothes, shoes and accessories, then looked back down at her lap shamefully, she felt guilty for spending her money so frivolously, but she figured that it was the last time she'd be spending her own money before she got ma…marr…

She clutched her head and shook it around in her grip, what the hell! She couldn't even say it in her head, it frightened her…commitment frightened her. Thinking of her and Sasuke getting married sent her flashbacks of some of the more horrendous moments in her and Naruto's marriage.

She rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand and thought about her growing hunger as a distraction against her thoughts of marriage. Damn. She should've bought some food before sitting down; she was going to lose her spot if she got up now. She glanced at the closest fast food joint, then at her uncomfortable shoes that she was sure she would be receiving blisters from. Stomach or feet. Hinata groaned. Such a cruel choice to make. After one more glance at the deliciously greasy looking food, she steeled herself and stayed put, she could always get food later, who knew when she'd be able to get a decent rest for her feet next.

Yawning, she rested her head in the crook of her elbows and watched as people passed her one by one; there was an adorable old couple bickering back and forth between each other, a child who was clinging as if to save his life to his mother's leg, some woman with blindingly bright red hair clutching some man's arm--

_Some man?_

_Sasuke_?

Hinata nearly leapt out of her chair right then, what was he doing here? What was he doing here…_with some other woman_? Was this his reason to the intermission? To continue an affair with some woman who had been unable to compete in the contest for some reason?

Before Hinata could jump to further conclusions, she was interrupted by an incredibly attractive man who looked only a few years older than herself and was looking down curiously at her, "Excuse me, miss, would you mind if I sat down here?" He gave her a charming smile and shifted the tray of food he had in his hand to the other.

"Oh, yes, go ahead." Hinata motioned her hand to the chair opposite to her and continued to glare daggers at Sasuke, trying to figure out just what he was trying to pull.

"Your boyfriend?" The black haired man asked solicitously and chewed on a fry.

She averted her eyes from Sasuke and down at her fingers, blushing, "Um, k-kind of."

"Really? Only kind of? By the looks you're giving him, he certainly seems like he's a cheating boyfriend." He gave her a cheeky grin and held out his package of fries, "Fry?"

"Yes please." Hinata snatched a small handful of them and greedily devoured them. After wiping her hand with her mouth and ignored his raised eyebrow and cough/laughs. "Yes, only 'kind of'." She sighed, "I'm not sure what's happening between us or what _will _happen between us…it's complicated."

"Ah…young love." He chuckled and offered her more fries, which she graciously took and ate with less vigor.

Hinata snorted, "You're not old enough to sigh wistfully about 'young love'. Besides, I'm sure with your looks you hook a few girls well enough." She blushed a deep, embarrassed red as soon as it came out of her mouth, she couldn't believe she had just said that.

"Really?" He asked in amusement, "Is that so?"

Hinata looked at his nearly empty food tray and nodded, then frowned. "Do…do I know you?" She looked back at his face and pursed her lips in concentration, trying to remember, "I'm terrible with matching faces with names…you seem really familiar."

His brow creased and he slowly shook his head, "I've never met you before…" He trailed off, unsure of what her name was.

"Hinata. Are you sure?" She persisted; it was nagging at her, pushing at the back of her mind.

"I'm sure I have never laid eyes on your pretty face before in my life." He unwrapped his burger and held it in his hands daintily, "Not trying to change the subject, but it seems that your '_kind of_' boyfriend is getting well acquainted with his…other girl."

Hinata whipped her head around in Sasuke's direction and watched as the red head whispered something in his ear and run her hands across his chest. His face was turned away from her, but she could see him shiver. In what? Pleasure? Something rose in Hinata's chest, not anguish or sadness…but fury. She could feel it bubbling in her gut and make her fist clench so much her fingernails dug into her skin. That lying son of a bitch. "_Don__'__t cheat on me_." He says. Bastard.

"You're taking this rather well," Unnamed Familiar Man commented and dabbed at his mouth with a tissue, "You haven't started screaming hysterically.

"Don't know how long that will last." Hinata replied through clenched teeth. She was _seething_.

"Hinata." She felt a hand land gently on her shoulder and she whipped around, ready to punch whoever was stupid enough to touch her at this moment. She tried, but was blocked by a large hand cupping her tiny fist. She looked up and her anger dissipated, only to replaced by embarrassment, "O-oh…Gaara…"

"What's wrong? What happened, Hinata?" His voice was edgier and worried.

"Nothing, nothing." Hinata shook her head and suddenly felt _tired_, "I'm fine."

"Okay…if you say so." Gaara agreed reluctantly and finally noticed Unnamed Familiar Man sitting across from them looking utterly amused. "Who's this?" Gaara growled, his hostility showing suddenly.

U.F.M. ignored the question directed at him and chuckled again, "So…first you go out with Sasuke Uchiha, and then you go out with Gaara Sabaku? You can't really be accusing him of cheating if you're doing the same, can you? Must have a thing for CEOs, don't you?"

A jumbled mess of, "He's just a friend!" and "How do you know who I am?" came out between the two being accused.

He decided to ignore Hinata's denial and raised an eyebrow at Gaara, "How don't I know? Owner of National Foods? _Multi-billionaire_?"

"_Ex _owner of National Foods. _Ex _billionaire." Gaara growled and clenched his fists.

"Oh that's right…you were bought out or something like that. Or were you left out of daddy's will?" His grin was near a sneer by now and Hinata decided she _really _did not like this man.

Hinata gripped Gaara's tensing arm and whispered, "Let's go, Gaara." She picked up her bags and clutched his arm tighter before turning to the dreadfully unpleasant man, "Good bye, sir. I hope to never see you again."

"We'll see." He smirked and watched her leave.

Hinata made the mistake of turning back to the insufferable man to frown, and caught direct eye contact with Sasuke whose face was impassive except for the tightening of his lips. Hinata removed the frown from her face and gave him a cool glance; to hell with him. She turned her head back around to the front and clutched Gaara's arm tighter, forgetting totally about the vaguely mysterious and familiar stranger as both her and the redhead walked away.

It was frustrating really, how badly she judged men.

--

"Well, it looks like it'll be a tight ride back home." Gaara commented and stepped away from the vehicle that had been stuffed full with boxed furniture; bungee cords held down the few boxes that were hanging out of the trunk, the doors were barely closed shut, and the passenger seat was pushed so far up that Hinata was worried she may not be able to get in without being crushed and suffocated.

"Er…okay…" Hinata gave the vehicle an uneasy look before walking up to the door and gingerly touched the handle. She gave it a gentle tug and was slightly concerned when it didn't budge in the slightest. Frustrated, she gave it a violent jerk and went tumbling back into the strong arms of Gaara.

"Oh!" Hinata blew away stray strands of hair dangling in her face and looked sheepishly up at him, "Sorry about that."

He gave a small smile that Hinata was still not used to; she was so accustomed to his former, angrier self, and gently up righted her by her elbows, "Not to worry. You're really accident prone, aren't you?"

She laughed and felt an embarrassed blush splash across her face, "I suppose."

"Well, I'll be sure to at least drive home safer then." Gaara concluded and slid into the front seat, waiting for Hinata to do the same.

It was a short ride filled with the radio and the occasional moments of static back to Gaara's apartment in which Hinata let herself dig into a shallow hole of self pity and loathing. The way she was feeling now, it was different than when she had broken up with Naruto, with Naruto she had felt heartbroken and just generally broken; now she felt the rage building up inside of her bubble and hiss under her skin, through her veins.

Just thinking of the lying bastard's face made her want to scream and punch anything near her. He had _lied _to her, _**lied**_. She was furious, furious at him for being a cheating son of a bitch, furious at the thought at this idiotic contest, and furious at herself for being so naïve and _stupid_.

She let this sink in for a moment; she was _angry_. She had just been so…angry these past few months, it was destroying her, spreading and consuming like a disease, and of all the things she had been angry about, she finally came to terms that the one she should have been angriest at was _herself_.

She had made the wrong decision in marrying Naruto.

She was the one who just accepted being entered into the contest after letting defeat win her over.

She had never stood up to Sakura, and instead cowered behind Sasuke like a mouse, quivering in shame and fear.

She had made the mistake of loving Sasuke.

Yes. Loved, in a sick twisted way…but love nonetheless.

Hinata hadn't even realized that she had tears streaming down her face by the time they had parked the car in the underground parking until Gaara gave her a panicked look and asked, "What's wrong?"

She turned to him gave him a weary and teary look. Gaara…good old Gaara, he never failed to be her hero, to be her best friend, her crutch to lean upon. The tears fell harder as she clutched his warm shirt and buried her head into it, bawling her eyes out.

He didn't say anything and let her ruin his shirt while patting her back comfortingly. It took a while before Hinata finally felt the tears stop enough for her to let out a relatively steady breath, her stomach was now clenching painfully from the strong emotions coursing through her and she felt like she may hurl. Dizzily, she looked up at Gaara and let him pat down her messy hair and wipe away the salty tears.

He was frowning, a look that Hinata was disturbingly comfortable with on Gaara's face…anything to make it seem like before when she was at least a little happy and never angry. His frown was still there, still tight as he bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead and then her cheeks to kiss away the tears.

Hinata exploded. She slapped him across the face and yanked away from him, scrambling and stumbling out of the car as fast as she could and was half way out of the car when Gaara's large hand gripped her wrist firmly. She struggled and sobbed, unsure as to if the begging for him to stop was vocal or not; she needed _out_.

"Hinata, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Gaara pleaded repeatedly and pulled her back into the car with a smooth jerk of the wrist.

"No, no, _no_!" She screamed and clawed at his wrist, "_Let go_! What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Hinata, but I can't _lie _to myself anymore, and I can't--"

"_What about Hanabi_?" She shrieked and stop her thrashing for a moment to glare maliciously at Gaara, "What about Hanabi?"

Gaara's grip loosened and he scowled, "Hanabi," His voice was nearly a scoff, "I don't know. I don't know if she wants me anymore. Do you know how many guys I've seen her with? I'm through with it! I've seen the way they stare at her, the way she flirts with them as if I'm not there." He gave a disgusted look to his own hands that were gripping hers.

"She loves you!" Hinata cried, "She _loves _you, she _needs _you, you can't do this to her!"

"Think about what she's doing to me!" Gaara roared, little bits of insanity that he had previously in his life was peeking at the edges; his eyes were wild like a crazy animal, he was furiously clutching at his fiery red hair and he looked just about ready to smash the windshield.

"So--so--you're going to rebound onto me? _Her sister_?" This was wrong, so wrong.

"This isn't a rebound, Hinata; I think I've liked you for a long time…while at the same time loving your sister." The fire in his eyes died down and he slumped back against the car door, "I don't know what to do, I think I still love her…I mean it really hurts, but I just…don't…know." He trailed off into a whisper.

"Well, I know what _I__'__m _going to do." Hinata jerked her hand away from him and hissed, "I'm going to take my stuff out of my apartment and give you both space and time to sort out what's going on with you." She stopped with one foot out of the car, "Gaara, please don't do this to us."

The scowl was back on his face, "So you're going to run again? The same way you ran away from your father? Naruto? Neji and Tenten? Now me?"

His words stabbed Hinata painfully in the back, digging and twisting so much so that that she could find it being manifested physically. Running away. That was what he had said; and he was absolutely right. She was always running from her problems, dumping them on other people or just ignoring them.

Slowly, she turned and faced him, her eyes wide with the hurt. Gaara's face seized up in panic and he denied quickly, "I'm sorry Hinata, I'm sorry--"

"No. I'm not going to run away." She whispered quietly, "I'm going to grab my stuff and return to Wife Search. I'm not going to run away." She turned away and ran to grab and pack her suitcase as quickly as she could.

--

**I found that once I just crack down to it I can get the story written much better, instead of doddling around using the excuse I have 'writer's block' (which really, I don't, I'm just an incredibly lazy procrastinator--you really have no idea.) so that I don't have the guilt of not writing.**

**Ciao,  
****MissLe**


	26. Confrontations

**Chapter 26**

Her clothes and various other articles of importance were all neatly folded and put in her suitcase with great care. She stooped down and buckled the straps of her suitcase.

Two more days. She had two more days to complete her mental check list.

Grimacing, she left the hotel room and locked the door behind her. Now off to her first task.

--

She stood patiently at the gates, her hands clasped behind her securely, waiting for them to open for her. Without much further ado, they opened wide, welcoming her within and letting her begin her long trek down the driveway.

The walk from the street all the way down to the mansion was shorter than she had hoped and remembered it to be; she was still too nervous. Taking a deep breath and shaking her hand to clear the jittering sense running through it, she rang the doorbell.

It took a minute before it was answered by the growling owner, "What?" An expression of both shock and mild disgust spread across his face, "Hinata?"

Hinata knew she shouldn't't feel hurt by the look on his face; she deserved it. She stared at his shoulder, still too much of a chicken to look at his eyes, "H-hello, Neji."

He continued to stare at her silently and Hinata couldn't help but feel that the vow that she had taken not to be unnerved by him was slowly crumbling. Clearing her throat and mind, she said, "May I come in?"

Neji stepped out of the way without a word and let her come in. His eyes were blank and held neither hospitality or hostility, Hinata found this stare even more intimidating than an angry scold or shout; at least then she could tell what would happen.

Without bothering for small talk, Hinata asked almost immediately, "Can you bring Tenten down too, please?"

Silently, he left her standing in the foyer by herself to fetch his wife. It hadn't taken long before the thumping of Tenten's usually light feet race down the stairs towards Hinata was heard and she had thrown herself at the other woman.

"Hinata! Dear lord! It's been a week since you ran off! We were going to call the police," Tenten sobbed into Hinata's shoulder; Hinata hoped the tears were just the by product of a hormonal, pregnant woman instead of a friend concerned for her beyond belief, it gave her too much guilt. "I was so worried."

Hinata awkwardly patted her shoulder, "I'm sorry." She gently pushed away her friend and took a deep breath, preparing for what she was going to say.

"Okay, guys." Good, good; her breathing was steady and she hadn't yet started shaking or bawling from the pressure, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. For running away, for dumping myself and all my problems on you--"

"Oh, Hinata, you don't have to worry about--" Tenten began and took a step towards her.

Hinata held out her hand, "Please, let me finish, Tenten." Getting ready for the next blurb of her mini speech, she took a deep breath, "And I am going back to Wife Search. I am."

"You're what?" Neji growled, "You are _not_--"

"Yes. Yes I am." Hinata said firmly, "I'm sorry that you don't like that. I'm sorry I'm disappointing you, Neji, but I'm going to do something _I _want."

Tenten finally made her way up to Hinata and put both hands on her shoulders, "If you want this, go for it, please. I want you to be happy, and if being with a prick that may make you feel special makes you happy, then do it." She grinned and let her arms drop.

As much as Hinata wanted to throw her arms around both of them, she refrained and gave a strained smile, she merely gave a small bow of her head and rested her hand against the door knob.

"Thank you."

--

_Knock._

_Knock._

_Knock._

_Ding-dong._

Hinata sighed exasperatedly, he had said he would _be _here. Tapping her fingers against her arm she rocked back and forth on her heels, mentally counting to fifteen. She was just about to leave when the door was flung open by Naruto clad only in his sunshine boxers.

"Hinata!" He cried sheepishly, "Sorry, I forgot. Come in, come in." He beckoned her in and quickly kicked some shoes that were haphazardly thrown into a pile further into a corner.

Hinata said nothing and stepped inside; how typical of him to forget. He led her to the parlor and offered her a seat and a drink, to which she politely declined the latter.

"So, what is it that made you call me so early this morning to ask we meet now?" He asked without any malice or annoyance, purely curious.

"I-I need to know some things..." Hinata began and fidgeted in her seat for a moment before asking as slowly as she could, "What...what happened between you and...Sasuke?"

The small smile on Naruto's face faded and he folded his hands together, "Sasuke and I had many photo shoots together in high school. We were...not friends, but he understood me. He understood what it was like without parents. He understood my sudden fits of anger sometimes. He and I even went to the same therapist.

"But we had a wall, if you will, that prevented us from taking the step to be friends. That wall was Sakura."

Hinata felt despair fill her stomach even though she knew she was still furious with Sasuke for cheating with that woman and that she hadn't forgiven him. Sakura. Hinata remembered the confrontation at the Aqua Pier between her, Sakura and Naruto. That woman always managed to find a way to make Hinata's heart twist and tear painfully.

"Sakura...Sakura was gorgeous. _Is _gorgeous. She was smart, she was powerful. She has this _it _factor about her that makes everyone worship her, makes everyone want to tear out their own hearts just to offer if up to her. She's a goddess." The hazy look spreading across his face was hastily removed and he added quickly, "But you know...she's kind of a bitch."

Hinata snorted.

"Anyways. I _loved _her in the early years in high school, obsessed with her. Which I'm sure, you know. I'm pretty sure everyone knew."

She had. It was hard not to. This was why when she had heard of Sakura's one night with Naruto it had given Hinata such a big blow.

"I was so devoted her but...she always rejected me. It made my pent up anger over my loss of parents and every other injustice put against me so much more. I was furious all the time on the inside then, always a volcano ready explode at any moment. The thing that set me off was when I found out Sakura had a thing for Sasuke. A big thing. As big as mine for her. But like her, he always rejected her, even more than she rejected me.

"I was so _angry_. I had never been that angry before. I pulled Sasuke out of his photo shoot and started beating the living shit out of him. Normally, Sasuke and I would be pretty even in a fight, if not him usually being better. He had all of those fancy martial arts lessons and I just had more experience with full out brawls between whoever managed to piss me off or I managed to piss off.

"But my fury drove me to a level I didn't know I could go to. I beat him so bad." A brief, delighted grin crossed his face, "He was sent to the hospital nearly in pieces, he was out for several days and in the hospital for several weeks.

"It turned out though, the day before I kicked his ass he received information about where his mysteriously disappearing brother was. After that photo shoot he was about to take the first plane to fetch him. By the time he got out of the hospital, Itachi was gone again. His trail had run cold."

Naruto's head drooped and his eyebrows knit together in a sad, painful way. "So that's that. Sasuke hates me because I ruined all chance of him finding his long lost brother."

Hinata got up from her seat and threw her arms around her ex-husband just as she used to when he had a rough day. She stayed like that for a second before saying, "Naruto, I think I do want to be friends. _Really _do. I do love you, I can't _not_, really."

Naruto returned the hug and wrapped his big arms tightly around her and buried his head into her shoulder, "That's good. I love you too, Hinata." He whispered and Hinata felt her heart twang painfully at his mournful and quiet voice.

It was a while before she let go of him and looked up at him. Quickly, she wiped the tears from his face and gave him another quick hug which he seemed grateful to receive. "I hope you find the right girl."

He laughed and gently pushed her away, "Don't worry. You know me, of course I will." He grinned cheekily and ruffled her hair.

Hinata made a face and playfully punched away his arm, "Oh, shut up." She picked up her purse and slung it across her shoulders, "I have to go now. I'll see you later." She smiled warmly at him and patted his head, "Be good."

"Aren't I always?"

--

"So may I take your order, miss?" The waiter asked politely and held his notepad expectantly.

"Ah, just water, thank you."

"Mineral water?"

"Um, no. Just water, thanks." Hinata responded meekly and sunk into her seat slightly. The waiter gave her a small smile and nodded his head before leaving to take another order.

"Hinata!"

Hinata waited for her flustered looking sister to pull out the seat across from her and slide in. "Sorry I'm so late! You wouldn't believe how many commissions I have to complete, _everyone _wants something it seems like." Hanabi's eyes shone brightly and Hinata couldn't help but frown slightly; the fame was getting to her.

But it was her sister, whom of course she loved dearly, so she smiled at her, "That's good. I'm glad business is doing so well."

"Yeah." Hanabi chirped and called a waiter to order up a complicated sounding salad of sorts. She turned back to Hinata and rested her head on top of her folded hands, "So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" The smile on her face never left and her cheeriness was seeping out of her pores.

Hinata fidgeted in her seat, already she had made two confrontations in one day, making another one would not go as smoothly, especially against her sister. Finally looking up at Hanabi's expectant face she drove on, "I wanted to talk to you about...Gaara."

"What about him?" The smile never faded from her face, but she stopped looking at Hinata and began examining her glossy looking nails.

"He's hurt that you're just...playing around with him. Y-you're just stringing him a-along." Hinata blurted out desperately and was disappointed that her old habit of stuttering had returned so suddenly, "It's not f-fair for him!"

Now the smile was gone and replaced with a cold stare, "Gaara and I were never really serious in the first place."

Hinata could not believe that these were the word's coming out of her dear sister's mouth. Narrowing her eyes, she hissed in a steely voice, "I've seen the way you guys have looked at each other. Don't lie to me, Hanabi." It had to be a lie. They _did _love each other, she was even sure that Hanabi favored Gaara over Kiba, another poor man she was probably stringing along.

"Don't act like my mother." Hanabi snapped and ignored both the waiter and salad that had arrived. Hinata did the same with her water.

"Since when haven't I acted like your mother? Since when haven't I always tried taken care of you because father wouldn't? _When haven__'__t I always tended to you_?" Hinata clenched her fists and jaw to stop from screaming.

"You don't have to now! _Stop worrying about me; I can take care of myself now_!" Hanabi had no such restrictions and suddenly stood up from her chair, bending over the table closer to Hinata.

"_I__'__m worrying about Gaara!_" People were staring now.

Hanabi sat back down in her seat but did not remove the venom from her voice, "Let me repeat myself. Gaara and I were never serious. I don't want a serious relationship, not when there are so many other options available for me now." She looked at Hinata scathingly, "And don't lecture me about being 'strung along'. You're the one _willingly _being strung along by this _Uchiha_ in this idiotic contest."

Hinata could not believe this. Hanabi was covering up her fear of commitment with the excuse of her sudden popularity. It was reasonable, Hinata supposed, that she was so frightened of commitment, Hinata was too, but only for the reason that her previous relationship had gone under. Both their mother and father who had at one point both seemed so committed and in love themselves had suddenly one day fallen out of it and divorced. She could _understand _that. But it infuriated her that Hanabi was trying to cover it up with a lie because her swollen ego had made her pride so much more unbearable.

Slowly standing up, she stared at Hanabi coolly, "Bull. Shit. Get over yourself. Stop letting your pride turn you into this, Gaara deserves better. _Kiba _deserves better, or have you forgotten all about him?"

With that final word, she left her sister seething in the corner of the restaurant, ready to unleash her anger out on the poor waiter who had the poor timing to come and ask if the meal had been satisfactory.

--

Warily, she pushed open the door that tinkled merrily, announcing her presence in the small café. She stopped in her tracks like an animal caught in headlights when Gaara turned around to see who had made a call so late at night when they were nearly closed. He gave a nearly imperceptible snort and look of near disbelief.

He turned back around and continued wiping down tables, "Oh. Hello, Hinata."

"Hello, Gaara," Hinata whispered back a greeting and closed the door behind her.

She stayed with her back against the door, quietly watching Gaara go from table to table, wiping them down until he threw down the rag forcefully and glared at Hinata, "Why are you here?"

Hinata quickly looked down at the floor, "I came to apologize. I'm so sorry."

He picked up his rag and recomposed himself, asking monotonously, "For what?"

"For being so cruel, for freaking out, for running our like that, for not even listening to a word you were saying and for blaming you for being the cheater." She blurted all out and felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

He paused in mid-swipe and stared at the table while asking, "What makes you think I'm not the cheater anymore?"

Hinata took a step away from the door and tried in a steady voice, "I...I saw Hanabi today. And you were right. About everything. I didn't believe you, not really, at first." Angrily, she swiped away at the tears, "She's my little sister!"

With a tired sigh, Gaara slumped himself into a heap onto a chair, "I know. And I'm sorry for dumping it all on you." His face saddened, "The insomnia's returned."

"You deserved better than this." Hinata insisted stubbornly and was frustrated that she couldn't stop crying.

"No. Not really. I deserve every bit of misery that I'm getting. Karma." His eyebrows knit together and motioned Hinata to sit down next to him.

She shook her head, "No, no you don't." She denied both his offer and claim and stomped her foot obstinately, "You've always been so kind to me! You've been a better person than so many people I know. You're my friend." She didn't even know why she was crying this hard.

"So I take it you're not going to take up my confession?" He looked up at her through lidded eyes.

Hinata froze and widened her eyes. Gaara gave an empty laugh, "Just kidding. Didn't think you would."

With a defeated sigh and resolute final tear, Hinata sat next to him, "I wish I could make Hanabi get some sense knocked back into her."

"Me too." Gaara murmured.

"Is there anything I can do?"

After a thoughtful pause, he muttered, "Tea."

She grinned and stood up to leave and make it for him.

--

Hinata collapsed onto the made bed, exhausted. She had had two days to finish her tasks before she returned to Wife Search, and had done them all in one day; it had been one of the hardest days of her life. Ignoring the urge to cry some more, she rolled over and fell immediately to sleep.

--

**Yes. Gaara does not have eyebrows.**

**Yes. This is an AU.**

**Yes. He does have them in this fan fiction.**

**Ah, next week…THE CONTEST CONTINUES!**

**Okay. I'm am seriously FUCKING pissed. I've discovered someone who's nearly plagarized my fanfiction and I'm ready to blow something up.**

**Check out: Big Brother: Uchiha Style**

**Tell me they haven't copied my story. Tell me.**

**Ciao,  
MissLe**


	27. Cheater

**Chapter 27**

"Sasuke!" Ino and Sakura squealed and threw themselves at Sasuke who caught them in a firm hug with strong hands.

"Oh, yes, _Sasuke_!" Hinata mimicked them and threw her arms around him too, making sure to coat her voice in mocking sugary sweetness. She looked up at him and shared a cold glare with him with the cameras (hopefully) remaining unaware.

Fucking bastard.

"Sakura, Ino...Hinata." He greeted them back civilly but as curtly as always, "I'm glad to have all three of you back at home." He gave them a dazzling smile which the cameras made sure to catch. His eyes swept between Ino and Sakura, ignoring Hinata completely.

"I'm so happy to be back!" Ino gushed and leaned over slightly, squishing her boobs together discreetly with her arms and exposing her (admittedly) impressive cleavage to the nation.

Nice.

"Well," Sasuke coughed uncomfortably and seemed to have trouble averting his eyes from Ino's neck down. Sakura, who was not to be outdone, dramatically yawned and stretched out her limbs as far as they would go, giving Sasuke a look at her flat stomach and tanned, long legs that we're even more exposed now that her skirt had mysteriously hitched up an inch or two.

"_Well_," Sasuke began again and abruptly turned his gaze away before the two started stripping. Hinata doubted that was the reason, the little man whore would probably enjoy watching a naked catfight between the two sexiest women in the world. "Let's go in, shall we?"

He quickly escaped in through the doors and Hinata picked up her luggage, rolling her eyes, what a man. She followed the two girls who already had three chauffeurs eagerly scrambling to gather up their suitcases in their arms and were drooling like dogs being teased with a bone in through the mansion doors.

Her heart felt heavy as she scanned the three chauffeurs without any hope. She knew that Shikamaru had run away with Temari to God knows where, Gaara had told her this. It still hit her hard though. Her only friend left in the contest--gone. She wasn't sure if she would be able to keep her sanity for the next two months with Sasuke, Ino, and Sakura.

She ignored the annoyed staring she was receiving as she entered the foyer slowly, taking her time and pausing a moment after each step, the weight in her heart felt too real.

"Thank you for joining us, _Hinata_." Sasuke sneered through gritted teeth.

"Not a problem." She snarled back, and then humbly bowed her head when the cameramen finally picked up on their hostility.

He ignored her again and returned his attention back to the models that were looking up with glittering eyes, unable to contain their excitement that their main rival had been vanquished by some unknown means. La-dee-_freaking_-da.

"I suppose you are all tired from your long plane rides, and that's understandable." Actually, Hinata was full of jittery energy from sitting so long, she longed to run or do something to release the pent up energy.

"And it's late," It was eight o'clock. "So we'll all retire to our respective rooms and I will see you ladies in the morning."

Hinata was about to consider objecting until she saw the tightness of his face, the gaunt look, and the startings of stubble on his chin and cheeks. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. He looked vulnerable.

So without a word of protest, Hinata quietly picked up her suitcase to go her respective room, leaving Ino and Sakura in their mild confusion.

She closed the door behind her and locked it, sliding onto the ground fluidly; she did not want to be here. She wasn't sure why it had been such a big deal to come here at the time when she had argued with Neji. She wasn't sure why she was suddenly tired. She wasn't sure why she hadn't seen through Sasuke's charm before.

She wasn't sure about a lot of things.

Crawling to her feet, Hinata threw herself onto the bed and was overwhelmed with confusion when she felt something fleshy beneath her move and toss from beneath her. Moving slowly, she sat up to see who the hell was sleeping in her bed before strong hands held painfully tight to her and pulled her back down.

Blazing coal black eyes glared at her, "Who the hell are you? Why are you in my room?"

She recognized those eyes. "Sasuke, what--" She noticed the longer, silkier black hair slipping out of a ponytail in the corner of her eye and she nearly screamed at her stupidity. This wasn't Sasuke at all. She did recognize those eyes because she had seen them twice before, once in a photograph and once face to face.

"You're--you're--" Hinata stuttered and forgot all about the pain in her wrists, "You're _Itachi_!"

He glared at her for a moment before letting a smirk of droll amusement crossed his face, "Oh yes...Hinata Hyuuga, if I remember correctly. You're not sleeping in the same bed as my brother?"

She snarled, "No. And I _haven__'__t _ever--" She stopped. There were those two instances...but they had _actually _only slept.

He raised an eyebrow and the amused look on his face grew, "Have a petty fight recently?"

"Listen, I don't know what the hell your problem is, but you have no reason to be such a complete asshole to me!" She barked at him and was so close to slapping him.

"I believe," He began and pushed her off of him, "that this is my room, and you should leave. I don't understand why you'd choose such a remote room so far from my brother's, if he still has the same room since I've left. Or is your fight that big?"

Anger boiled through her and she shut her eyes, only to see disturbingly pleasing images of Sasuke's brother's head being rammed viciously into the wall behind him. This calmed her somewhat and she said without opening her eyes, "You really don't know what's going on...do you?"

"Should I?" He asked, his interest suddenly lost. She supposed he only found her worthy of note if she were upset.

"Well, you see..." Now a lazy smirk appeared on her face and she sat back down on the bed, much to Itachi's disapproval, "You're brother had got it into himself to start this reality television contest starring him as the host."

"Oh?" Itachi asked monotonously and began examining objects around the room of apparently greater interest to him than her.

"Oh, yeah," She continued, "Called _Wife Search_." She frowned, not so much as a twitch of the eye from him.

"So my little brother's finally decided to settle down, huh?" She watched as a flicker of a smirk flashed across his face, "Good for him. Now why does he need ten other girls here to do that?"

Hinata resisted the urge to call him an idiot and instead asked, "Why else? The ego trip. The sex. The machismo of it all."

Finally, he snorted and eyed her with the same look she had given him before, "You really don't know what's going on, do you?"

She was fed up with his attitude. Standing up, she walked out the door, with a small, cold wave. Once out of the room and several feet away, she let out a muffled scream of frustration. Never before had she met _anyone _who managed to get that much on her nerves and drive her this far from herself.

Snarling, she stormed her way up to Sasuke's room, trying to remember the exact winding halls she had taken before to get there. After getting lost several times, she finally found the corridor that led to the globe. Walking straight up to it without even knocking, she pulled down on Japan and stormed in.

Sasuke was asleep. He hadn't even fully gotten into bed before just collapsing on the mattress. Hair fell into his face and his open mouth blew them away softly, only to have to blow them away again when the hairs fell back into place. She walked closer to him and examined his face. There were bags under his eyes and a tight expression still hung around his face even when unconscious, she noticed how his muscles were still clenched around his neck.

She nearly felt guilty when she yanked him off the bed and didn't have enough strength to hold him, so ended up dropping him harshly against the hardwood floor.

"_Fuck_!" Sasuke snarled and immediately glared up at Hinata, "Should have known _you _would be waking me up like this."

"Yeah, you should've." Hinata replied sweetly and grabbed his elbow, desperately trying to get him to come with her.

"What the hell do you want, Hyuuga?"

"Just come with me!" Hinata howled and gave a final tug that finally brought him to his feet, "It's _urgent_." She insisted and pulled him roughly out of his room, but not without some resistance and angry accusations.

"Listen, woman," He snarled, "I don't care if maybe you're missing a hair brush from your washroom, or something frivolous like that. I told you to go to bed and sleep!"

"I am not your prisoner and you are not my mother." She inwardly cringed, remember Hanabi's accusations against her two days ago.

"You are staying in _my _house, and you are going to abide by _my _rules."

"Just _come_."

She managed to drag him all the way to her room and slam open the door, ignoring the rest of his whining. She pointed at her bed, "_See_? There--"

She stopped and stared at the neatly made, empty bed. She walked slowly over to it, and ran her hand across it. She should have expected it. She should've expected this. He _had _been able to evade everyone these past years, after all.

"If this is some pathetic attempt to molest me or plead to me, please. Save it for someone else. I could frankly care less about your begging. Though I must admit it would be amusing to watch an heiress beg." He sneered and leaned against the door jamb with arms crossed against his chest.

She lost it and yanked him into the room to slap him across his face several times with as much force as she could before he finally recovered and angrily grabbed her wrists, "You pathetic crazy woman, what the _fuck _is your problem?"

"_My _problem?" She screamed and tried to yank away her wrists without avail, "_My _problem, you selfish, cheating, self-centered, penis oriented _bastard_." Tears were falling out and she was ashamed that she was crying again so easily in front of him.

"I'm the cheating bastard? That's funny, coming from you." There was hurt in his voice which Hinata ignored and pinned as guilt.

"_YES_!" She screamed, "I _promised _to you that I wouldn't cheat, but you go off canoodling with some _redhead_!" She punched his chest angrily.

"_Excuse me_? Yeah, you _promised_, but _you _go off 'canoodling' with some redhead!" He looked close to hitting her back.

"What…what are you talking about?" Hinata's voice died and her punching stopped.

"Yeah, I caught you." He sneered, "Go off and have your secret love affair. Fine. Let me find out about it in a public place. Fine. Come back here and show your face? No." He had let go of her and was now pacing in front of her bed.

"I…I never cheated on you with Gaara." She denied quietly and backed against the door.

"Gaara? Gaara Sabaku?" He growled and kicked at her bed frame angrily, "You really are a gold digger aren't you? Going after the billionaire CEOs."

Hinata scowled, remembering the same line Itachi had delivered to her when she had met him in the food court. "Gaara's a friend. I've known him forever. And he's no longer a billionaire CEO, for your information. He was bought out."

"Shut up. I saw the way you two looked at each other, I watched you getting draped across his arm like every other mistress does to her married lover. Wait. Is he married?"

"He's going out with my sister. Or was. Or maybe still is. But--"

"Oh god, Hinata. You stole your _sister__'__s _boyfriend?" He gave her a disgusted look, "And I used to call Sakura a slut." He began pacing again, "What is life to you? Some big soap opera where you play the star?"

Anger began to boil up again and she screamed, "Don't you dare call _me _a slut. You yourself had a redhead draped across your arm. I watched you two in the food court. I watched her run her fingers across your chest." She shot him back a disgusted look. "Don't be so hypocritical."

"Karin is not my mistress. God no." He shivered. She remembered seeing him shiver the same way when Karin had touched him. Maybe it wasn't pleasure but...disgust? Did that mean he hadn't cheated? She felt the guilt of falsely accusing him set in.

"Well, Gaara is not my secret lover." She said stubbornly and crossed her arms.

He eyed her evenly, "I don't believe you." He began to walk out of the room before Hinata snatched his elbow again.

"Listen. I believe you, which means _I trust you_. I want you to trust me in order to make what ever we have between us work out." she looked down at her feet, "Please."

He gave her a nearly pained look, "Hinata...I don't know if I could do anything to make what ever is between us...work out."

"You are _such _a man! Making women do all the work. As if we didn't do enough--"

She was stopped when Sasuke hungrily pressed his lips against her and wrapped his arms around her. She was still stunned as he backed her up against the bed. Oh God. Tenten had always told her that if she was making out with someone on a bed, the last thing to do unless you wanted to have sex with him was to stay off your back. Too late for that. God knew she liked making out with him, and later when she was comfortable with it would maybe have sex with him. _But not in front of cameras that were undoubtedly watching this!_

"I don't know about making this work out later on...but for now, I'll do my best." He murmured against the skin of her neck.

"Um..." Hinata began and was feeling thoroughly uncomfortable after finally spotting the camera artfully hidden behind the fan above her.

She was saved when the door was thrown open and a disgusted voice said, "Dear lord. I step out of the room for three minutes, and already you've been making out with a girl on my bed. This is like having you in high school all over again. I knew having a room so close to the front door was a mistake."

Sasuke froze on top of Hinata and seemed to forget she was there all together. Slowly, he got off of her and stared at the man in the doorway with widened eyes.

"Itachi..." He breathed and seemed unable to believe he was there.

"Hello, little brother."

* * *

**SO. I updated. Quickly.**

**Wowza.**

**ANYWAYS. For those of you who don't know, I've stopped receiving emails from fanfiction, so cannot read private messages. But do review. I can still read those and reply.**

**On a much happier note, Big Brother: Uchiha Style has been taken down. I thank EVERYONE who supported me and told me not to quit. Didn't plan on it...but it helped a lot. Thank you! I even appreciate those who told me to calm down a bit, I did eventually. I especially thank those (in my sick, twisted way) those who were just as angry as me. I'm not exactly a forgiving girl.**

**Ciao,  
****MissLe**


	28. Brother Dearest

**Chapter 28**

Sasuke continued to stare wordlessly at his brother, his mouth opening and closing unintelligibly. Hinata took a step back. Maybe the two would want a more personal reunion...

Suddenly, Sasuke lunged at his brother with a loud snarl, hands clenched into fists as he wildly began punching at him. Itachi returned each punch with equal force and power, evading and dodging the few that looked like they actually may cause damage. Maybe this was their way of brotherly love, Hinata thought. Suddenly, Itachi was left with a bloody (and possibly broken) nose while the two _continued _fighting.

Or not.

"Stop!" She screamed and tried clawing at one of their backs. "_Stop_!"

The cameramen miraculously appeared at the sound of her screaming, stopping and arriving precisely at her doorway. Hinata waited for them to do something, but was horrified when they merely stood there filming with gross interest.

"Help them!" Hinata cried and motioned at the brutally tussling brothers with her wildly flailing arms. "They're _killing _each other!" Bruises were popping up everywhere and blood was being spilled across the hardwood floors. How could they _do _this? They were _brothers_, recently _united _brothers.

The cameramen frowned at her and motioned her to look away and ignore them because...because that was their job. And apparently hers too.

Screaming back tears, she dove into the mess of bloody limbs and managed to get between them, but not without some painful (and hopefully misguided) punches directed her way and blood dripping from somewhere on her face.

"Stop it!" She hissed and gripped both of their chins sharply in her fingers, "Stop." She could feel the resigned tiredness in her voice and looked back between them in the eyes.

"Hinata, don't get--"

"Uchiha. Shut up." Hinata said calmly to the youngest brother, then increased her grip on his chin dramatically, eliciting a sharp yelp from the man. "You are going to go and get yourself cleaned up." She turned to Itachi who was staring at her uninterestedly, "And you...are going to go talk to..." She paused, trying to think of someone important enough other than his brother whom he had just had a full out brawl with, "Kakashi." She finally decided on and slowly let go of the two, making sure they wouldn't jump at each other again.

"Capisce?"

Itachi smirked at her and gave her a small bow of his head, "Yes...milady."

Hinata turned back to Sasuke who was breathing deep through gritted teeth and shaking clenched fists. Lightly, she moved him away from the distracted cameramen and led him into her bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. She watched the pained expressions fall across his face and lightly brushed away his bangs that were sticking to the blood on his forehead.

"I'm not going to ask what that was," Hinata whispered and held his bruised hands in hers, "But at least sit down so I can clean you up a bit so you can go back to the cameras looking at least halfway decent."

He stood still, perhaps not even registering what she was saying. She pulled him onto the rim of her bathtub and sat him down, dabbing down the swelling and blood with cold, wet cloth.

"He...he just disappeared." Sasuke muttered, making Hinata stop her dabbing and look at him.

"One day he was there, and the next..._poof_. Vanishing act." His eyes were wide as he hysterically stared down at his hands. "Did you know that right after he left, my father was..._murdered_? And my mom..." He gripped Hinata's shoulders and stared at her wildly, "My mom committed suicide because of them."

Hinata crouched down and hugged him, "I know, Uchiha. I know." She whispered and held his head against her neck, "It must've been terrible."

He clutched her like she was his only escape from certain death, "It was. I inherited the company at seventeen. Where were you at seventeen?"

"I was...still in high school." She whispered and ran her fingers through his hair.

"You know what the worst thing is?" Sasuke asked in a choked voice.

"What?"

"I can't even..._hate _him." He was sobbing now, and Hinata could feel the tears stream down her neck. "I'm angry. Angry as fucking hell...but I can't hate him. I can't."

"You don't have to do anything, Uchiha. You don't have to hate him, but you most certainly don't have to love him either. Just don't hurt yourself forcing yourself to hate him, it's not worth it if you're in more pain than him." She reassured and began lightly dabbing at his face again, lightly kissing his bruises, cuts, and tears.

"I _need _to though, I _need _to hate him." Sasuke insisted and clawed at her back frantically, "You don't understand."

"No, I don't." She finished the last of his face dabbing and clung back to him, feeling him relax beneath his soft black shirt. She rubbed his back comfortingly and let him rest his head on her shoulder.

"Hinata, I don't want...I don't want to face them right now." He whispered against her shoulder, "I hate this whole thing. It's so stupid." He pulled her into his lap and held her like a teddy bear.

"I won't make you." Hinata promised and ran her hands across his face, pushing away hair that was falling into it. "I won't make you do anything you don't want to."

He glanced up at her, his face showing the emotional wreckage that was taking its toll and Hinata wanted nothing more than to hold him and tell him that none of this was real. He lightly traced a bruise that was forming on her cheekbone and pulled her closer with his other hand, she could feel his breath on her lips.

"I know you won't."

He kissed her urgently and held one hand at her waist, one running up and down her arm. Hinata twisted in his hold to wrap one arm around his neck and coiled her fingers through his hair. She could feel her stomach flip and twirl pleasantly; they had never kissed like this. Sasuke ran a stream of kisses from her jaw up to her ear and back again, throwing in the occasional lick that made Hinata's lungs seem to stop working.

He stopped suddenly and looked at her with serious eyes, "I should get out there now."

She nodded and got off of his lap, waiting for him to exit the bathroom. Instead, he grasped her hand and stood in front of her. "Please come with me."

The last thing Hinata wanted to do was face those cameras and get into one of those god awful private 'talk boxes' where she would have to relay the events to the camera and world, she had managed to avoid them so far. But looking up at his begging face made her nod and hold his hand back.

He pulled her out into the foyer where the cameras were surrounding Kakashi and Itachi, the former who was nearly screaming at the other annoyingly stoic one. Kakashi was clutching his top hat angrily and waving his arms agitatedly at Itachi who continued to just stare with arms crossed across his chest.

"What the _hell _are you doing here, Itachi? This is no longer your house." Kakashi demanded and mimicked his position.

"Homesick?" Itachi suggested with a shrug.

"Don't give me that shit." Sasuke hissed from behind the mob of people surrounding the two men.

The cameramen immediately diverted their attention to Sasuke and Hinata. She could almost _feel _them zooming into their clasped hands.

"Ah. Sasuke." Itachi smirked, "Your face pretty enough to face us yet?"

"Shut up." Hinata was surprised to find that the snarling demand had come out of her mouth. Quickly, she slapped a hand to it and attempted to hide behind Sasuke's broad back (a feat that worked none to well due to the hand of his she was still clasping).

Sasuke merely patted her head absentmindedly like a dog who had just retrieved the thrown stick and stared down the small audience that was staring at Hinata. "Can't say your is looking all that well either, Itachi." He shrugged, but Hinata could feel his muscles tense and his grip on her hand tighten.

Itachi glanced at her. "You're annoying. And demanding." He looked back at Sasuke, disgusted, "Why'd you even consider bringing her here? Or even keep her, for that matter. It's seems to me like the word 'gold digger' fits her perfectly."

Hinata could feel the heat rush to her face and the urge to cry very strong. This…_jackass _was like those kids in elementary school and high school who would tease her mercilessly for being so...

Shy?

She didn't understand. She didn't understand at all. Demanding was the last thing she was before she entered this contest, before the contest it pained her to ask the waiter for a glass of water. Whether or not this change was good, she couldn't tell. Not yet, at least.

"She doesn't need to gold dig, _brother dearest_." He rubbed his thumb against Hinata's knuckles comfortingly, "If you hadn't noticed, she's--"

Hinata quickly clamped her free hand over his mouth and hissed desperately into his ear, "Please, Sasuke. Not here." Her father would find numerous ways to dismember her if she told the whole world (on _national television_) that she was the previous heir to the Hyuuga company.

Sasuke shot her an annoyed glare, but said nothing more on the subject. Ignoring Itachi's nearly interested stare, he turned his glare on him. "Why _are _you _here_?"

"Can't a brother visit his family?" He put his finger against his chin, "Or what's left of it, I guess would be the appropriate answer."

Hinata recognized the snarling coming from the back of Sasuke's throat and she frantically grasped onto his arm, pulling it against her chest. "Stop, Sasuke! No more fighting today!"

"Let. Me. _Go_." He hissed and struggled against her surprisingly strong grip.

"No." She insisted, shaking her head profusely.

"O_kaaay_." Kakashi stepped in after getting enough drama without more bloodshed. "Itachi, you are coming with me. Sasuke...go cool off."

Itachi shrugged and turned his back nonchalantly, walking away from his brother with the arrogance no human being should be allowed to possess. She made a face at his back and turned her attention back to Sasuke who had a defeated look on his face and sagging shoulders.

Pulling him along without any complaint on his behalf, she wandered around the halls aimlessly holding hands with him until they arrived at the library. It was quiet as always as they walked in and sat down on the couch, snuggling up to each other in the comfort of silence.

"Why do you do this?" Sasuke murmured quietly.

"Do what, Uchiha?"

"This. Take care of me, be so kind. And why do you always call me Uchiha?" He played with her fingers sleepily.

The first part was easy, but she wasn't sure why she always called him 'Uchiha'. Making a face, she replied, "I take care of you because I care. It…hurts me to see you like this, I'm not one who likes watching people suffer. No matter how much of a ass he can be sometimes." She teased, but sobered up when she received no response to her lame joke. "Er...Right. Um, I...I don't know why I call you Uchiha. Habit, I guess?"

"Well, don't. Call me by my name." He yawned and rested his head against hers.

"Okay, Sasuke." She murmured and dozed off.

--

By the time she woke up Sasuke was gone and she was left sprawled across the couch in an undignified matter. She frowned. How chivalrous of the man. The events of the last hour or so were remembered and her annoyed frown faded into one of melancholy and what might've been pity. Poor, poor Sasuke, he didn't deserve what had all happened to him.

Getting up, she searched around for the photo album she had seen when she had first come to the library. She _needed _something that would stop making her heart feel like it was drowning whenever she thought of the agony Sasuke was in. She needed to see him when he was happy. She was, however, sorely disappointed when she could find nothing.

She sat back down on the couch and clutched her head in her hands. This whole thing...was...was...

"_Ohmygawd_!"

Hinata looked up at Ino who had flung the door open and had the look of a small girl who found that her favourite boy band was performing a concert just for her birthday.

"_Hinata_!" She trilled and skipped up to the bemused woman, grasping her hands in hers, "Ohmygawd. Have you seen him?" She didn't wait for her answer. "He is like, the hottest piece of ass _ever_. Right up there with Sasuke."

"What?" Since when was Ino _ever _nice to Hinata?

"Sasuke's brother. Itachi." A dreamy look crossed her face, "He is _soooo _hot. I can't believe he's going to be living under the same roof as us! Yum."

O_kaaaaaay_. Slutty McWhorebag, much? Go after _both _brothers?

Ino must not have heard the snort that Hinata directed at her, because she continued cheerily, "Well, I'm off to go tell Sakura now. Ciao!" She then pranced out of the room much in the same manner she had entered in.

Watching her leave, Hinata suddenly realized what this was. What this _whole _thing was.

It was fucked up.

--

**Short. That is what this is. Bah. I don't like writing about Itachi…it's so much of a hassle. I think that this story is…ALMOST COMPLETE. Kind of. Couple more chapters maybe.**

**I'm so excited.**

**I'd just like to add...I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOO MUCH!**

_**1000+ REVIEWS?!**_

**Holy hell. **

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	29. Illusions

**Recap**

"_May I ask who owns Gaara's company now?__"_

_Temari shrugged limply, __"__The Akatsuki, some illegal underground company that needs some honest way of making a good living to get the feds off of their case and back.__"_

_--_

_Sasuke continued to stare wordlessly at his brother, his mouth opening and closing unintelligibly. _

_Suddenly, Sasuke lunged at his brother with a loud snarl, hands clenched into fists as he wildly began punching at him. Itachi returned each punch with equal force and power, evading and dodging the few that looked like they actually may cause damage. _

_--_

"_He__…__he just disappeared.__"__ Sasuke muttered, making Hinata stop her dabbing and look at him._

"_One day he was there, and the next__…__poof. Vanishing act.__"__ His eyes were wide as he hysterically stared down at his hands. __"__Did you know that right after he left, my father was__…__murdered? And my mom__…"__ He gripped Hinata__'__s shoulders and stared at her wildly, __"__My mom committed suicide because of them.__"_

_--_

_Hinata suddenly realized what this was. What this whole thing was._

_It was fucked up._

**Chapter 29**

Hinata coughed and played with the food on her plate uncomfortably. The same was done by everyone at the table except for the two men at opposite sides of the table. Sasuke merely played with his food silently while Itachi ate as if the awkward silence had no affect on him.

Maybe it actually didn't.

Ino opened her mouth as to say something, but seemed to have thought better of it and twirled the spaghetti around her fork until it had become a large ball. No one at the table could think of anything appropriate to say for this situation that seemed to _have _no appropriate responses. Hinata mentally weighed which was worse; having the table full of mindless catty gossip or this unbearable silence. Finally she decided that both made her want to kill herself and were possibly equally terrible.

"So…" Hinata finally ventured and wanted to shoot herself for her stupidity when all eyes (including the cameramen's) shot towards hers almost desperately, save for Itachi's who continued to chew his meatball almost thoughtfully while staring at the space in front of him.

"Er…th-this spaghetti's r-really good." Hinata managed to spit out and shoved a forkful into her mouth to give her a reason to stop while she was ahead, knowing she would continue rambling if she didn't.

A collective sigh was heard from the cameramen and the models. Sakura looked at Itachi with fascination and leaned closer to him, "Itachi…Sasuke's brother, right?"

"I believe that fact has already been established many, many times." He didn't even spare her a glance as he picked up a piece of garlic bread to examine with a distasteful frown.

Sakura seemed to either not care or fail to see the jab at her intelligence and smiled at him in that aggravating way that Hinata always saw her use on Sasuke. "Well, you do look a _lot _like him…if not a little more…_mature_." She looked ready to start running her hands all over him until Hinata made a gagging noise that she tried to disguise as a cough futilely.

For the first time that night, Sasuke's lips turned up in the slightest fraction at the corners and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Is something a matter, Hinata?"

"N-not at all." She coughed and wheezed and looked down in disgust at her plate of spaghetti in replacement of Sakura. That girl was getting so…_gross_. The slutty way she composed herself was almost making Hinata pity her; she spent her time being worn down time after time by men who didn't give a damn about her other than the potential of a good night with a supermodel.

"Don't die." Sakura cooed sweetly.

Not that from what Hinata could find, there were any other attributes that put her in any good light.

"You wish." Hinata muttered under breath and took another bite of spaghetti.

"Why _are _you here, Itachi?" Ino asked curiously and rested her head in her hand, pushing away her plate of untouched spaghetti with the other. Hinata just realized how skinny the girl was…how _unhealthily _skinny she was. Her skin was a sallow colour as it stretched across her cheeks and her wrists seemed too frail to support the head it was propping up.

Itachi seemed to notice this too and eyed her plate of food. "What are you, anorexic?"

Ino blushed a furious colour of red and crossed her arms across her small chest defensively. "It was just a question." She murmured and looked down at the floor, as if ashamed.

Hinata didn't think it was possible for someone like Ino to ever be ashamed.

"As was mine." Itachi said and took a sip of his wine, utterly disregarding the attention that Sakura was shamelessly throwing his way.

"Yes, _do _tell why you're here, Itachi." Hinata asked, mimicking Sakura's sugary sweet voice.

"I hardly see how it's any of your business." Itachi responded, deadpan.

"We _are _all going to live together, one might as well find out more about each other." Hinata smiled at him and felt her confidence begin to boil, creating a drive for her to continue this conversation with this intimidating asshole.

He finally looked up at her and responded by saying, "You are the most annoying thing I have ever had the misfortune of meeting."

"And you," Hinata took a bite of her garlic bread, taking her time to chew it. "Are the most insufferable jackass _I _have ever had the misfortune of meeting."

"I've been called worse."

"I have no doubt about that." Hinata answered dryly and sipped her wine, finally enjoying the meal. She did, however feel a tinge of fear as she said these words, not because of Itachi, however; because of herself.

She was without a doubt _changing_. Everything that had happened to her in the last few months were filling those empty corners of her mind with things she felt although were giving her strength and a backbone…were going to somehow destroy her.

Itachi seemed to change his tactic and asked, "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Hinata went rigid and froze with her fork half way into her mouth. Carefully, she put down the utensil and stared at Itachi evenly. "I haven't seen my mother since I was four."

"Hm…is that so?" There was a glint in his eye that told Hinata that he knew exactly her mother was gone and never to return. _Bastard_. "I suppose we have something in common after all. I haven't seen mine in several years either...seeing as she's dead."

Sakura and Ino gasped (Sakura's gasp noticeably louder and more dramatic than the one elicited from Ino) together in perfect unison. While Sakura latched herself onto the elder brother's arm, Ino clutched Sasuke's. Well, that infatuation of Itachi Uchiha had not seemed to last long for Ino.

Good for her.

"Your mother's…_dead_?" Ino and Sakura asked, their large doe eyes getting round.

Both Itachi and Sasuke scowled simultaneously and shook their arms out of the pouting models' grasp. Sasuke looked even more annoyed, if not more regretful too than Itachi (who showed no remorse for the death of his mother) and suddenly stood up from his chair to glare at everyone at the table and, surprisingly, the cameras.

"I'm full."

With that, he stormed off in the direction of what Hinata vaguely recalled was his bedroom, leaving the cameramen pleased with the amount of drama and information they had just been able to witness. Itachi seemed to click that this was the most reasonable thing to do too and also put down his fork to stand up and give one last violent shake to rid himself of the clingy woman who still had her grasp on him.

"I too am not hungry." He took a step away from the table before turning slightly to look at Hinata who had finished everything on her plate without any of the guilt the two other women at the table were feeling and said to her, "Come with me to my bedroom."

Everyone's jaw fell open and several eating utensils dropped with a clatter onto the floor or their dishes. Hinata's eyes widened and she dumbly opened and closed her mouth while gesturing to him and the direction he was heading with a twitching eye.

"Wh-what…?"

"I do believe you heard me, Ms. Hyuuga. I asked that you accompany me to my bedroom." He demanded again, the traces of the insufferable trademark Uchiha smirk donning his lips.

Hinata's eyes narrowed and she was about to humbly deny his request with a few choice words about where he could stick his demand until she noticed the cameramen's glaring that promised her much pain and suffering. So with much reluctance, Hinata gave a weak nod and slowly made her way over to Itachi who clutched her by her elbow and proceeded to drag her away in a manner that gave her a direct line of vision to Sakura's blazing eyes that made Hinata wish she had just let the cameramen do what they would with her.

"Wh-why are we going t-to your bedroom?" Hinata panted as he suddenly picked up the pace and continued to drag her along backwards. She wasn't fool enough to think that he was taking her there for reasons that had anything to do with sex.

"We have something to discuss." He answered simply as rounded a corner that came right to the alcove that led to _her _room. He brought them into the room and closed the door behind him to stare at her with even eyes.

"So discuss." Hinata told him quietly, her confidence dying now that she had left the dinner table.

"This is my room. I must demand that you find a new one." He said with an air of self righteousness that made Hinata want to commit terrible acts of violence against him.

"I don't think so." She said.

His eyes narrowed dangerously and he took a step closer to her, making her take one unsteady one back. His arm reached out to snatch her sleeve to yank her forward in a violent jerk. Looking up at him, Hinata realized that this man would have no problem harming a woman, even over a trivial manner such as this. He had probably even killed several.

"I will ask you politely once more." He hissed and lowered his face closer to her level, "Get. _Out_."

Hinata suddenly found a burst of courage and hissed back, "You've lost your privilege to stake claim over your room _years _ago after you ran away." She looked down at his hand and lightly gripped it. "Now, if you'd be so kind, I'd like you to _let go_."

His grip only tightened and Hinata was sure that there would be a permanent wrinkle in her shirt from this. "I have had owned it much longer than you have joined this silly contest."

"Well, first come first serve."

"Yes, and I came _first_."

"_Look_," Hinata tried jerking away her hand, but to no avail, and glared up at him. "As important as you may think you are, I could really care less."

"Really?" There was no amusement in his voice, only malice. "Because I think that you really do." Itachi struck her as someone who only flaunted facts about him unless to get things his own way; which Hinata supposed now would be the time.

"The organization I belong to," He bent down to whisper into her ear, "Is called the _Akatsuki_."

It wasn't fear that ran through Hinata's heart. It was _possibility_. The Akatsuki…an illegal organization that the general public knew committed terrible acts and offences against the law, but could never have it proven. Usually the name caused people to rethink whatever they were doing in case it may anger them.

But really, it only meant one thing for Hinata.

_Gaara__'__s company._

She remembered Temari telling her just before she had disappeared with Shikamaru that it was the Akatsuki who had taken over Gaara's company. In fact, Hinata didn't doubt that Gaara's father had not left a single penny for his children because he had been under threat of the Akatsuki who always found a way to get what they want. Buying off a company that had no owner was easier and less conspicuous than having if all left behind by someone that they had little affiliation with.

Hinata's mouth opened to say something, plead something, before Ino had opened the door to stare at the two with a cocked head and (to her credit) little judgement.

"Uh…Should've knocked, I guess." She backed up a bit before Itachi threw down Hinata's hand and brushed past Ino.

"Think about it." Was all he said as he exited.

Hinata slumped down on her bed and wearily looked up at Ino who was still at her doorway with a look that held both curiosity and silent amusement. "Can I help you?"

Ino scratched her head, "I suppose." She slowly shut the door and walked over to Hinata with the grace only a model such as her could possess to sit down next to her on the bed. She looked around and said, "You have a nice bedroom."

"So I've been told." Hinata answered and wished that Ino would get to the point and leave so that she could go to sleep.

Ino fidgeted for a second before grasping the edges of Hinata's blanket and finally saying, "I came to ask you a question…on a philosophical level. Kind of."

Hinata didn't think that Ino had the brain capacity to handle philosophy, let alone the word itself. But…she had never thought that she would ever do something such as come and ask _her_, Hinata, nemesis of all that was skinny, beautiful, and fashionable, for 'philosophical advice' either.

"Er…o-okay." Hinata motioned her hand for Ino to continue.

"Alright. I guess it's not so much philosophical. At all." Ino mused and tugged at a lock of her blonde hair that seemed to have lost so much lustre since what Hinata remembered it to be like at the beginning of the contest. "It's mostly just advice I want."

Ino stood up suddenly and began pacing. "I…I want to know if I should quit this contest."

"_What_?" Hinata blurted. _Ino_…worshipper of Sasuke was asking Hinata, her opponent in this sick twisted game, if she should _quit_? "Why…why are you asking _me _this?"

Ino gave her a rueful smile. "Who else am I supposed to ask? Kakashi? The cameramen? Sasuke? _Sakura_? Besides," She tugged at the small shirt that looked capable of fitting a ten year old. "I think that…that you have the most sense out of everyone else here."

Okay. Hinata would admit it. The flattery that Ino just issued her did help.

"Fine…but why do you need to quit? Why do you need someone else to decide this for you?" Hinata needed to ask these questions in order to wrap her head around the fact that Ino suddenly wanted quit cold turkey. It. Just. Didn't. Make. Sense.

"I need someone to talk me out of it." Ino said.

"'Need someone to talk you out of it?'" Hinata wasn't believing this. She was _sure _she would've been alerted when Hell froze over. So sure. "Then why not ask Sakura? I'm sure she would be more than willing to do that for you."

"Sakura…she isn't the easiest person to talk to, as I'm sure you know." Ino gave her a wry smile at this. "And listening to her try to persuade me would only make me want to stay. Besides…you seem pretty neutral in the matter. Compared to everyone else, at least."

"Y-you might want to explain to me why you want to quit b-before letting me give you an answer."

"Oh. Yeah." She sat back down and folded her hands in her lap. "Well, I've never _really _loved Sasuke."

With this statement, Hinata burst out laughing at the irony. Ino…Temari…herself…Haku…

_None of them loved him._

(At least at the start, in her case.)

"What?" Ino asked, her voice sharp and suspicious.

"Nothing, nothing." Hinata wiped the tears of mirth and waved her arm for Ino to continue. "Carry on."

"Uh, anyways. I've never really loved him. Basically…it was just my agent who told me that this would really boost my publicity, so I was all for it. A little more attention never hurt anyone." Her eyes suddenly gave way to a dreamy look and she sighed lightly. "But during the intermission…I met this amazing guy. After him, Sasuke was starting look much less appealing. He's just so beautiful. And funny. And kind, and hilarious, and _amazing_, and--"

"Okay, I get it. Perfect guy." Hinata interrupted, unable to stand the look in Ino's eyes any longer. "So why don't you just quit then?"

"Did you even read the contract for this contest?" Ino asked, an eyebrow cocked.

No. Because she never even got the contract in the first place.

"Well, in case you didn't, it requires you to pay up a hell of a fine if you do decide to suddenly quit. And…" Ino's gaze drifted towards the door and she looked as if she were taking a reluctant stroll down the neighbourhood known as 'Memory Lane.' "Pride, I guess. I can't let Sakura win."

Hinata knew the feeling.

"It seems to me, that the only thing that you're going to get out of this if you end up staying is misery and regret. Not only will you be wretched with Sasuke, but if you leave your Wonder Boy so long, he might not be still available later. I really think that Sakura's only going to get a bigger laugh out of this if you end up unhappy. Besides, I'm sure that the money you have as a model is more than enough to pay the fine." Hinata answered her and was glad that earlier she had not quit. She didn't have the money to pay for such a trivial thing.

Ino's face gave to a small glowing smile. "I imagine that you're right." She gripped Hinata's hands and grinned, "Thanks."

Hinata was still watching those bony hands as Ino got up to leave and couldn't help but blurt out, "Are you actually anorexic?"

Ino looked back at Hinata, the shock on her face dissolving into regret and rue. "_Quod me nutrit, me destruit._"

"'That which nourishes me, destroys me?'" Hinata asked without full comprehension. Since when did Ino know Latin? Where were those flying pigs?

"Yes."

Finally regaining some brain capacity from the shock, Hinata pulled back her lips in a disbelieving look. "Uh…please don't tell me you took that s-seriously."

Ino let out a tinkling laugh. "Psh. I'm not as stupid as you think, Hinata." Hinata blushed and scratched her cheek to hide it. "Once again, a ruse created on behalf of suggestion by my agent. I don't know _what _he's thinking though." She sighed. "But he's the boss."

"Then what meaning does it have to you?"

"I'm talking about…about my job. Modelling." She looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes in a way that made Hinata look like she was praying. "It's not worth it a lot of the time. Some people seem to be able to find a way to make it fit for them." Hinata could tell that she was referring to Sakura. "I…can't really. The stress…"

She looked up at Hinata and asked, "Do you know what I wanted to be when I was younger? A psychiatrist. I wanted to be the one who listened to those people that lied down in those chairs and make their problems go away." She opened her closed fists in front of her and spread her arms out as if releasing those problems.

"But people always just saw me as a pretty face. Anytime I would mention that I wanted to do this, they would laugh and tell me to stick to something 'more suited to me.' Since when did they know what was suited to my needs and what wasn't? Eventually, I got sick of their comments and shut up. People just assumed with my looks that I wanted to be something glamorous, like a actress or model, so they would continue to encourage me to follow these dreams." She snorted. "Well, I guess I sure as fuck followed _their _dreams for me."

Hinata stayed quiet and looked up at the blonde with what hoped she conveyed the utmost sorrow and apology for the poor woman that Hinata was ashamed to say that even she had fallen for that stereotype that people had created for her. She didn't stand to hug her. She didn't move at all. She wasn't sure if the gesture was enough, or if Ino would even appreciate it at all.

But Ino seemed to understand this and grinned at Hinata. "Don't beat yourself up too much. I'm just a marvellous actress." She flicked her pony tailed hair behind her and winked. She opened the door and wiggled her fingers in the air as she left. "'Bye, Hinata."

Hinata watched even as the door closed then scrunched her eyes closed and curling up into a ball on her bed. Without even wrapping the blanket around her or laying her head down on the pillow, she let herself drift asleep to the sound of soft music playing and echoing through her room, her ears, and her dreams.

--

**Is this long enough?  
****Noooooooo.  
****Did I actually put that much effort into the last little bit?  
**_**Noooooo.  
**_**Did I update within three months?  
****Yeeeeeeess.  
****Will I try to update sooner?  
**_**Yeeeeesss.**_

**Itachi's getting easier to write.**

**Ciao,  
****MissLe**


	30. Forgotten

**Chapter 30**

By the time Hinata had woken up, the music was no longer being played and her alarm clock was showing bright red digits as 1:30 a.m. She turned over in her bed and squeezed her eyes shut hoping that sleep may come back to her easier. No such luck.

Rubbing her eyes, Hinata threw off the covers and stood up. Her room was almost eerie in the dark with the blinds still thrown back to show a garden lurking with shadows and branches of trees curling like fingers into the inky dark sky. She considered walking over to it and shutting them, but instead opened her door and walked out into the hall.

She let her feet lightly carry themselves around the hallways with no direction or goal. It was dark, almost too dark to see, and it had a dream like quality to her walk, especially with the lack of noise that usually seemed to follow her. She drifted past doors and turned down different hallways until she found herself relatively close to her room yet again. Frowning, she stepped into the closest room near her and closed the door behind her.

For some reason, tears swam in her eyes as she turned around and saw a piano sitting in the centre of the otherwise empty room. With each step she took towards the piano the more sobs wracked her body, the more the tears stung as they fell down her cheeks, the more the knot in her stomach tightened, and the more she hated herself.

_Hated_.

She skimmed her fingers over the keys and she could feel herself drawing a blank when it came to every single song she had played. How could she have forgotten her songs? How had she forgotten her piano? The straw that was the breaking point on that proverbial camel in hers and Naruto's marriage. The sole thing that kept her company throughout high school while her father had no time for her and her sister was trying to avoid being seen with a loser to build up her social status. Her _passion_.

This…this contest was the cause for forgetting. With a frustrated scream, Hinata slammed her fists down onto the piano's smooth keys as if that would help bring back the familiar notes that she knew were there. Choked sobs leaked from her eyes and made tears roll down her cheeks, dropping into pools around her fingers around the black and white keys. For a while, she merely let herself cry and scream to the piano, desperately wishing that it would open up to her again.

Looking up, she finally noticed in the dim light being shone from the moon through the window a single sheet of paper sitting on the edge of the piano. It seemed to whisper gleefully as she reached over to pluck it up and place it in front of her, its old and curled edges rustling with satisfaction.

It was a sheet of music. After a quick scan she realized that it was handwritten and created hastily with messy scrawling. Hesitantly, she placed her fingers across the keys and began to slowly play out the notes with calculated precision that rung around the room almost painfully in their robotic rhythm.

It wasn't coming back, she realized with utter horror. Her songs were still locked away, unable for her to reach. The piano was foreign to her. Taking a deep breath, she began to play again, trying to let the notes play themselves instead of her trying to control them. There was no way that the piano would _ever _be forever lost to her, regardless of the circumstances, you just didn't forget things that leave such a deep impact on your life.

Soon, the notes began to flow together and make sense to her, not enough to make her feel that she was yet again fluent in it though. It was enough to make her hopeful nonetheless.

"I didn't know that you played piano."

Hinata turned around to face the soft voice that had addressed her. His eyes were gaunt and his steps held less confidence than they had a few days ago. He pushed back the strands of hair that were falling in his face as he made his way over to share the piano bench she was sitting on.

"I did." She replied to the dark man beside her and watched as the moonlight sharpened his features, giving his fatigue a more pronounced look.

He leaned over and pressed his face into her hair, inhaling unsteadily. She didn't jerk away or move him. It felt nearly natural to have him touch her now. "'Did?'" He asked her quietly.

"I've forgotten now." She let him move her until she sat between his spread legs, her back pressing against his slowly rising and falling chest.

"How?" He placed her fingers on the keys and held his hands over hers carefully.

As much as she wanted to scream, "_Because of you_!", she knew that it wasn't fair. Even though this entire contest revolved around him, it wasn't his fault that she forgot, that she was forgetting her old self, that she was _losing _her old self. Yes, he was a factor that caused this whole mess, but one could not entirely place the blame on him.

So instead, she merely shrugged and whispered, "I just did."

"I see." He murmured and pressed down his fingers against hers to produce simple yet gentle music that caused a click in Hinata's brain, indicating the familiarity of a song previously played by her. She relaxed under the firm grip he held on her hands and began to play along with him as she began to remember in advance the notes that came after the ones she played.

She was almost worried. She glanced back at the man behind her who rested his chin against her shoulder with a lidded and vacant look. Sasuke no longer carried his arrogant attitude around with him now that he'd seen his brother he had longed for for so many years, he was so much more…submissive. Broken. A half empty glass.

She jerked her fingers away from beneath his and turned around to face his mildly surprised face. Frowning, she traced his fingers and asked, "When will you get better?"

A hint of the amused smirk she was so accustomed to seeing on his face lifted at the corners as he replied, "When did I have something needing to get better?"

"You're…you're not…whole." She whispered and looked back at the sheet of music. There was a staple on the left corner, indicating the presence of another sheet of paper, to which Hinata curiously ripped off from beneath and examined.

It was another song, or perhaps the same one. She wasn't sure. Squinting, she was able to discern that the two were not the same, though held a similar melody. She placed it beside the first sheet and wondered if it was a continuation of the song, though the double bar lines on the first page seemed to suggest otherwise.

"It's supposed to be a duet." Sasuke answered the question that she hadn't worded and began to play the first measure of the first page. Hinata, catching on, followed suit and played the second page in unison. The sound together more than covered up her lacking ability to excel at piano like she used to and seemed to give life to the moonlight that pooled around the piano and at their feet. In fact, it seemed to _be _the moonlight with it's soft notes that indicated hidden romance and a dulled brightness.

The song came to a close with a soft press to the keys on Sasuke's behalf. He relaxed the muscles that Hinata didn't know had been clenched and dropped his forehead against the crook of her neck. His breath was unsteady again as he clutched onto her waist desperately.

"You deliberately ignored what I said, didn't you? About you not being whole, I mean." She asked and lightly traced a finger across his own.

He said nothing to that and murmured against the skin of her neck, "Itachi wrote that. He wrote that for our _mother_. I was supposed to play this part." He pointed to the section Hinata had played.

"Did you ever?" Hinata asked, noticing the significance in the word 'supposed'.

"No." He pulled her closer to him. "He wrote it right before he ran away. Mother never heard it."

Hinata gently pulled his arms that immediately went dead at the slight tug off of her and stood up to turn around and face him. She ran her fingers across the sharp features of his face and leaned down to place her forehead against his. "He really destroyed you didn't he? And everything you built up over time, he crushed after he came her again, didn't he?"

He turned his head away and hissed angrily, "Don't say things that you're just assuming. It helps no one."

She ignored his harsh words and gripped his shoulders lightly, "But I'm right, aren't I?"

The look he shot at her was frighteningly less angry than she though it would be. His eyes were dull and Hinata knew that what she said was correct. Itachi had to leave.

Now.

Hesitantly, Hinata bent down and placed a soft kiss against his forehead, nose, cheek, and chin before stepping away from the bench. "Go back to bed and sleep, Sasuke, okay?"

He looked at her with knitted eyebrows before nodding, though not moving at all. She gave him a pained look before beginning to run, letting her feet carry her again. She knew where he would be though, even at this time of night.

She burst through her bedroom doors to see Itachi lounging on her bed lazily reading a book. She strolled up to him and plucked the book out of his hands and throwing it across the room.

"Cat showing their claws?" Itachi asked with a raised eyebrows.

"Shut up." She hissed and leaned close. "Shut the _fuck _up and listen to me."

It seemed she finally caught his attention after several days of being almost totally ignored by the man. His eyebrows raised and his eyes stared directly into hers for once. For some reason, the fact that he was so surprised made her even more furious. "Get out of this house. Get out _now_."

His eyes narrowed and he sat up further. "Who are you to tell me to get out of my house?"

"This is no longer _your _house, _Uchiha_, this is Sasuke's." She stood up suddenly and swung open the door. "Get out."

He stood with the languid grace that seemed to be inherited by all Uchihas and made slow steps over to her. "I will not. I will not even leave this room that is _mine_." He towered over her and attempted to intimidate her with the dramatic height difference.

She merely glared back and hissed, "You have no right to be here."

"I have all the right in the world, Ms. Hyuuga." With that, he pushed her out of the room and into the hall with a click of the door that signified the lock being slid into use.

Hinata knew that there would no use in trying to get back into her room, so merely wandered off down the hall until she found the familiar smaller hallway that led into Sasuke's room. Quietly, she pulled down on the disguised handle and stepped in.

He was sitting upright at the corner of his bed staring outside his wide window, the darkness only adding to increase the frown that was on his face. He looked up at her and held out his arms like an expectant child. It was too much. Hinata hurled herself into him and bit back the weeping sensation at the back of her throat; he reminded her too much a deserted child who wished for nothing but the comfort of another.

"You found my room rather easily, didn't you?" He asked, the ghost of a chuckle in his voice.

"It's getting easier." She whispered against his shoulder and clutched onto his sides.

He merely grunted in acknowledgement and pulled her down on top of him on the bed, letting her rest against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "How is it that we manage to sleep in the same bed so often, yet never have any sex?" He asked with amusement and ran his fingers through her hair.

She shivered under his light touch that ran across her scalp. "Because you, Sasuke, are a prude." She grinned at him and pressed her head against the hollow of his throat to feel the vibrations as he talked.

A smile finally flitted across his face as he replied, "Perhaps. You know I'm all for abstinence."

"Hm…liar." She murmured against his chest and closed her eyes, feeling Sasuke's grip on her lighten somewhat and his breathing deepen. Nestling further against him, she soon fell back to sleep.

--

"Hey, you play piano?"

Hinata turned around on the piano bench to find Ino standing at the doorway with crossed arms surrounded by cameramen. She suppressed a sigh and gave Ino a faint smile, trying to ignore the cameramen she had so desperately tried to avoid the entire morning. "Yeah. I guess."

Ino practically bounced up to the bench and plopped herself down beside the shorter woman. "Cool." She turned to Hinata, her hands clapping with delight. "Play some more!"

Hinata wondered just how far the model was willing to take her stupid act and shrugged. "Okay." She began the song she spent the entire morning trying to remember, piece together, and make sound good. Ino watched her quietly as an analytical expression passed over her thin face, giving Hinata a small glimpse at how intelligent Ino actually was. It was a shame that she was being made to act like a fool, she would've been a definite choice as Sasuke's wife.

Maybe that wasn't the best thing.

The song came to a close just as Ino squealed, "Play another one!"

Crinkling her eyebrows together, Hinata quietly obliged and played one part of the duet Sasuke and her had played last night. As she finished that piece, Ino urged her to play another one. The cycle continued like that until the cameramen's expressions grew bored and unsettled. Hinata hid a small grin as they began to filter out of the room one by one.

As soon as they left, she turned to Ino with a small quirk of the mouth, "You meant to do that, didn't you?"

Ino tossed back her blonde ponytail and rolled her eyes. "They were following me the entire morning. Good lord, nearly made me want to go and find Sakura to take me off my back." She grinned at Hinata before continuing, "Luckily, I heard you playing first."

"Ah, the tough life we lead." Hinata said wistfully before the both of them broke down into giggles.

As the giggles subsided, Ino turned serious as she waggled her eyebrows at the other woman. "So…I saw you escaping from Sasuke's room early this morning."

"You know where that is?"

"Sure, it's down that hall--hey, don't avoid the question." She frowned and clicked her nails across the ivory keys.

Hinata sighed as she recalled the events of this morning. By the time she had woken up, she was no longer sleeping on Sasuke, but alone in a bed lacking any warmth but her own. It hadn't even crossed her mind to get mad at the man for leaving her like that; he didn't strike her as the type to stay idly in bed while watching a woman sleep or wait for her to wake. She had merely got up, left the room, and wandered straight to the piano room, knowing that her bedroom was no longer her bedroom. "We didn't sleep together…well, we did, but in a literal sense."

"That's _boring_." Ino whined and urged, "Come on, tell me something juicy."

Hinata blushed and laughed, "There is nothing 'juicy' to tell, that's all that happened."

"Damn. I wanted to know how good he was."

Hinata merely chuckled and shifted uncomfortably.

"So, teach me to play a song." Ino requested as she sensed the sudden drop of comfort level and rested her elbow on the keys in order to place her head in the opened palm.

"What type of song do you want to play?"

The blonde shrugged. "I dunno…something simple." Her eyes brightened. "Like, Yankee Doodle."

A small pain pricked at Hinata's heart as she remembered part of her fight with Naruto that led to their divorce.

"_B-but you already play piano so well at home, I-I like the songs that you play at home more because__…__because it seems so much more intimate.__"__ Naruto tried to tell her soothingly, but ended up sounding just plain pitiful._

_Hinata ceased her firing and asked, __"__Okay then, name one song that I__'__ve played.__"_

_Naruto gave her a questioning look before stuttering, __"__Uh__…__uhm__…__er__…__.Y-Yankee Doodle__…__?__"_

_Hinata__'__s eyes narrowed and she hissed at him, __"__Wrong. I__'__ve never, ever, _ever _played that song.__"_

"Hey, are you okay?" Ino asked and waved a hand in front of Hinata's suddenly blank face. "You just sorta…zoned out there."

She quickly adopted a small smile before shaking her head. "Yeah, I'm fine." She faced the piano with a firm look on her face. "I've never really played it before though…but it's a simple enough song to figure out just by ear." After a minute or so of fiddling around with keys and notes, she figured she had it enough to properly teach the woman next to her.

"Okay, so place your fingers--"

The door burst open to reveal Sakura strolling in with the cameramen closely following behind. "Oh, Sasuke, you play--" She stopped and glared at Hinata. "Oh. It's you."

Hinata gave her a wry smile. "Yeah. It's me."

Sakura sneered back and spat, "Don't be a smartass." Her gaze finally landed on Ino and her expression gave way to a fleeting look of hurt. Hinata turned to look at Ino who was leaning back against the piano with an extruding air of nonchalance and staring at Sakura with half lidded eyes.

Sakura's face quickly rearranged itself back into a scathing look as she snorted. "By the way, Ino, you look like a fucking skeleton. Do us all a favour and either get some clothes that fit you properly or eat something for fucks sake." With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the room with a slam of the door.

Hinata turned a worried gaze to Ino and was surprised to find an amused expression pulled across the thin face. "Why are you smiling? Weren't…weren't you offended by what Sakura said?"

The model snorted and turned her back to the door. "She's just pissed because she knows I'm no longer her bitch to lead along by the nose. Besides, it's kind of her way of caring. She used to be my best friend and old habits _are _hard to break. She's secretly worried about me. She's jealous."

Hinata took a moment to soak this all in. Sakura? Worried? _Jealous_? What was the world coming to? She turned to Ino and asked quietly, "So…are you just being friendly to me because you want to make Sakura…_jealous_?"

A look of genuine surprise passed Ino's face as she quickly denied, "What? No, no, no, no, I swear. If I wanted to make her jealous, I would've just slept with Sasuke."

Before Hinata could respond to any of this, Sakura came back into the room fully composed as she told them with a shrug, "While I'm here, I might as well tell you…

"Itachi's gone."

--

**I am by no means, a musical genius, so if you find any mistakes with what I've written in regards to the musical aspect of this chapter, by all means, tell me.**

**I like writing Itachi now. He's fun in a cynical, everything-needs-to-be-my-way sorta way.**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	31. Letter

**Chapter 31**

Hinata nearly tumbled right over the piano bench as she scrambled over it and began sprinting down the hallway past Sakura who shouted an angry retort as Hinata pushed past her without so much as an acknowledgment, let alone an apology. Doors and corridors flung past her as she continued to race with only a single goal in mind. She vaguely could hear Ino call her name after her; a realization that barely registered as she flung open the door of her room to look around wildly for the familiar head of long tied back hair in the constant ponytail.

She collapsed back against the door jamb in what she hoped was relief and not guilt. This was good. This _was _good. This was good? Really?

Before she could determine an answer, Ino suddenly appeared at her side with a face flushed from a short sprint after the smaller woman and demanded, "_What _has you so worked up? Jesus, 'Itachi's gone' could mean anything. Could be off for a nice stroll. Could be off getting coffee. Could be off banging some chick."

Hinata almost relaxed at the truth of this and her dramatic overreaction until she spotted the pristine white envelope lying atop her fluffed up cushion. Taking slow steps, Hinata reached the bed and sat down on it as she grabbed the envelope that had her name written on it with small, neat letters and held it tightly in front of her as she stared at it with blank eyes. What would happen if she opened this? Would there be an apology? An explanation of sorts?

She decided finally as Ino leaned against the doorjamb with crossed arms impatiently that no, the last thing she wanted to do right now was read it. Carefully, she folded it and deposited it into the pocket of her jeans and stood up to face Ino, "I…I'm g-going to find Sasuke now, okay?"

The model shrugged. "Whatever. I'm going to go and hide away somewhere from the cameras. Bye." She waggled her fingers goodbye as she left quickly, detecting Hinata's sudden need to be alone, or at least, alone with Sasuke.

Waiting until Ino was out of sight, Hinata got up from her bed and began a brisk walk to Sasuke's room. This was a good thing, wasn't it? It was what was for the best; it was for Sasuke's best interest. Having his brother gone was better for him, right? Now he could go back to his normal insufferable self that Hinata was used.

Then why did it feel like this was _so wrong_?

This was…this was Sasuke's brother. The child who came out his same mother's womb. The child who took care of Sasuke while he was a child. The child whom Sasuke once _adored_. The child who Sasuke still loved no matter what he said.

Hinata suddenly stopped in the middle of her long stride to crouch down on the ground and press her face into her knees. This wasn't right that Itachi should be gone. This was not _right_. They were brothers at the most bare basics when stripped down to it. They were brothers who should always love, care and protect each other and having Itachi leave would do _nothing _to make that better.

"Hinata,"

Hinata shot her head up to stare up at Sasuke before bursting into tears. His eyes widened substantially before he knelt down beside her to take her hand and pull her into his chest where she sobbed until the tears bled through the material of his soft shirt and onto his skin. He sat down properly and leaned back against the wall, sheltering her between his legs and arms.

"Now, what's this about?" He murmured against her hair and ran his hands gently up and down her arms. "Why the tears?"

She hugged herself tightly to his chest and cried against his neck, "Y-you guys are s-siblings! You sh-shouldn't be fighting, e-even if you can't forgive what he did…y-you just can't do this." She closed her eyes and tried squeezing out the last of her tears. "Just…just love each other. Y-you really should."

His body seemed to freeze for a moment as his ministrations suddenly ceased. "What'd he say to you? What did he do?" His voice was frighteningly cold and almost calm as he said this and pulled her head gently away from his chest. "Where is he?"

"I don't know." She whispered and slumped in his hold.

Gently, he pulled himself away and stood up suddenly. "I'll be…I'll be back." With that, he took off with brisk strides and clenched fists.

She watched him go and turned back to stare at her knees. Maybe she should just give this all up and pay the price of a ridiculously high fine, she was starting to think that perhaps it would be worth it. If she stayed here any longer in this insane environment, she was sure that these wounds that she kept receiving would scar, if they would even heal at all.

But still, she couldn't.

She couldn't, not with Sasuke who was doing even worse than she was, not when she had finally stood up for herself to do this, and not when Sasuke would probably be facing even worst in the next few days to come. Sighing and clutching at her hair angrily, she couldn't help but feel a strong wave of loathing to her pregnant best friend who got her into this mess in the first place. She knew this hate was irrational and misplaced, but it was so _easy _to; easier than hating herself, at least.

Loud angry shouts interrupted her thoughts and caused her to shoot her head up in alarm. Giving a small groan, she readied herself to run as she heard the familiar clatter of cameras and sound equipments making a rapid approach her way, but paused slightly as she listed to the equally familiar sound of an angry Uchiha man bellowing at said camera wielders.

"Get out! _Leave_!" He roared and ended up turning around to punch one of them in the face, leaving the poor man with a bloody nose and bruised eye.

Hinata continued to watch in horror as Sasuke strode up to her, grasped her wrist tightly, and proceeded to drag her at a brisk pace towards his room.

She said nothing as he threw her into the room and slammed the door shut, seething and clutching at his hair with a look akin to psychosis on his face. Finally looking up at Hinata who stared back at him with terror, he took two quick strides to cross the distance between them and clutched at her shoulders with iron tight fingers that were sure to leave bruises.

"Did you know?" He hissed and lowered his face to stare straight into her widened eyes.

"Kn-know what?" She whispered and was too frightened to move anymore than the shallow breaths she was taking.

"_That he was leaving_!" He roared and flung himself away from him to begin pacing across his bedroom floor angrily. "Did you _fucking _know?"

It was then that Hinata noticed the crumpled up piece of paper clenched in Sasuke's fist with familiar writing scrawled across it. Biting her lip, she slowly shook her head and balled her hands into fists to prevent herself from reaching out to touch him; she knew that it wouldn't do any good. "N-no. Not at all."

"Fuck." He grabbed one of his vases off his dressers and hurled it at the wall across from them with a frighteningly loud crash as glass shattered and skittered across his hardwood floors. "_Fuck_!"

She couldn't take it any longer. Slowly, she made her way across to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly and buried her face against his shoulder. "D-don't do this to y-yourself…"

"Fuck." His voice was almost weak as he said this and began to droop wearily against her. "Fuck. I…I can't believe he did that to me. Again." He dropped his head so that his bangs were shielding is eyes that he began to rub. "He's never coming back."

Hinata clenched tighter and said nothing, waiting until he let it all out first. Sure enough, he continued and sat down on the ground, pulling her down to straddle his lap so he could hide his face against the juncture of her neck and chin. "I hated him while he was here. I really did, even before he left sometimes, because he was _always _the golden boy, always getting the attention. But when he's gone, I feel an ache. Right here." He held his curled fist against his heart. "It's so sharp that…that it hurts sometimes." He whispered the last bit so softly Hinata barely heard it.

"What did you expect to happen o-once you brought h-him back?" She murmured and ran her fingers through his soft hair.

"I don't know. I really don't. I just…I just wanted it to be like it was before he left. When he was my big brother who always cared for me and the same brother I used to adore so much." By now, her neck was mysteriously wet.

"I'll…I'll stay here f-for you as long as you n-need. Promise." Hinata whispered and pressed a kiss against his har.

"No, no don't promise that. Please. It'll…it'll make me feel more of a monster than usual."

His words confused her, but she continued stroking his hair anyways. "W-would you like me to leave?"

He finally looked up at her and pressed his palm against her neck to gently pull her closer. "No. Not at all." He gave a small sigh and looked down at his limp hand that still held the paper. "But I think that would be best for now. I need time to think."

She gave him a concerned look and bit her lip. "I-if that's what you need, I-I'll do it." She stood up from his lap and was ready to leave until his hand quickly grasped her wrist. Turning slowly, she returned his lost look with a questioning one.

"Just…just promise me that you won't hate me whatever I do. Please."

Bending down and grasping his face suddenly, she kissed him with as much emotion she could muster and murmured between kisses. "I…I d-don't think I could."

This seemed to be a good enough answer for Sasuke who gave a crooked smile and untangled her fingers from his. "I just need a little while is all."

"Okay." Finally, she left the room as quick as she could, knowing that if she looked back one more time that she would without a doubt run back to him.

After turning a few corners, she took a deep breath and looked down at the envelope she had taken out of her pocket. It was time to read this.

Once reaching her bedroom, she threw herself down onto the bed and ripped open the top of the envelope with her nail. With unsteady hands, she reached into it and unfolded the letter delicately.

_To Ms. Hinata Hyuuga,_

_I__'__ll start off this letter by saying you should find yourself excessively lucky considering I rarely write letters to the people I do know very well, let alone those I__'__ve merely met within the expanse of several weeks (if you__'__re including the time I first met you in the food court)._

_In all honesty, I__'__m not sure why I wrote a letter to you anyways. I can__'__t stand you at all; almost everything you do grates my nerves (though if it__'__s any consolation, you__'__re no more annoying than Sakura), but somehow, my brother seems to find you tolerable. I suppose that__'__s actually the best explanation I can give you as to why I wrote this to you. For Sasuke._

_Now before you start jumping to conclusions with the half facts you__'__ve been given, let me explain a few things to you in detail first. Firstly, that I love Sasuke still no matter all of what I__'__ve put him through. I never wanted to leave, not really. Our father was murdered by an assassin hired by the company I now work for; the Akatsuki., though Sasuke never knew this and may never know it until he reads the letter I wrote to him._

_Originally, I had set out to seek revenge, I needed to find out why and who had killed my father. Actually, the why wasn__'__t even so important to me so much as the who. I was going to go and bestow upon them the same that they did to my father, except in a much more brutal and satisfying way._

_But by the time I found them__…__the tables seemed to have turned. They _expected _me. They expected in my rage I would do something as rash as to abandon my company to seek out my revenge. I was furious. I was furious at them for playing me, furious that they took me so lightly, and furious at myself for being so _stupid_._

_However, they made me an offer I couldn__'__t refuse. _

_In exchange for my services as one of their finest financial advisers, they would in return guarantee financial security for Sasuke (that and his subtly suggested life as well) for as long as I worked for them. Soon, I became engrossed in the job. It was something I excelled in without the pressures that the media placed on my head as president of the Uchiha corporation and without the pressures that my family placed on me. It was easy to do this. It didn__'__t take long for me to work my way through their ranks until I was close enough to the top that I had a heavy hold in the organization._

_Suddenly, it wasn__'__t all coasting like it was before._

_With power comes responsibility. Some of the responsibilities I was placed with__…__let__'__s just say they__'__re not something I__'__m proud of, yet it__'__s something I found--_still _find--necessary. I think the worst thing about it is that it__'__s easy. It__'__s as easy as controlling the company__'__s finance. I find no remorse in what I do, though I know I should._

_I don__'__t remember what the names for these different types of killers are, except both types are murderers who continue, and continue, and continue. One type feels guilt as they kill, they feel it aching heavily as if they can__'__t bear to ever do it again. Yet they do. They feel the guilt as they watch the life get sucked out of their victims eyes, but they continue to do it._

_The other type doesn__'__t. People think that they can__'__t tell the difference between what__'__s morally right, and what__'__s wrong. _They're _wrong. These types of murderers can tell the difference, they know what__'__s the right decision to make, but they do it because it doesn__'__t affect them. They don__'__t feel the guilt. To them it__'__s easy._

_Psychotic._

_I do believe that__'__s the word to describe those who don__'__t feel the guilt. _

Psychotic.

_Maybe that__'__s what I__'__m classified as. I _feel _no remorse. I feel none. Maybe it__'__s because I know that it__'__s all to protect my little brother. Maybe that__'__s just an excuse to shed the blame of being a monster._

_Anyways, I__'__ve rambled far too long. I think the main idea I was trying to get across to you from the beginning of this ridiculously long letter before I went off tangent was to tell you to stop believing you know everything without all the facts. I don__'__t know where you get the idea you do know everything, but it does no good to anyone; least of all my brother._

_Just remember that it__'__s not all what you think it is._

_Itachi_

_P.S. That redheaded woman you spotted my brother with that one time we so pleasantly met at the mall? She__'__s not one of my brother__'__s mistresses, contrary to your belief. She__'__s a top private investigator my brother hired to, I assume, track me down. (Futilely, of course, but I suppose the thought is very flattering.)_

_P.P.S. That also, I believe, is the reason he put a hold on this little contest of his. (Also very flattering, actually.)_

Hinata closed the letter and laid back against her pillow numbly. Why would he actually disclose so much information to her about matters like _that_? It couldn't be the full reason; there must've been some other reason he wrote it. Yet, as much as she lied there thinking as hard as she could, an answer continued to elude her.

_Just remember that it__'__s not all what you think it is._

For some reason, this brought up the painful memory of her fight with Hanabi at the restaurant.

"_Don__'__t act like my mother.__"_

The thought of Hanabi was almost enough to make Hinata want to cry again. Hanabi…Hanabi was her sister and currently their relationship was as rocky as Itachi and Sasuke's were. She wanted things to be simple again. She wanted to be Hanabi's support system like before, she wanted to have her sister love her unconditionally like before. Sniffling, she gave a wet laugh against her pillow. "I'm such a cry baby." She murmured and sat up slowly against the side of the bed, her fingers tightly gripping the large blanket.

Hanabi.

Her sister.

Hanabi who she _loved_.

With a determined set to her jaw, she marched out of her room and headed in the direction she knew the phone would be. She didn't care if what she told her sister would be taped for the entire nation to hear; if that was the only way that she was going to be able to talk to her, then so be it.

Unsteadily, she reached for the phone and began dialling the familiar number and rose her shaky hand to her ear. After several dial tones, it was finally picked up.

"Hello?" A groggy voice answered low and rumbling.

"_Gaara_?"

"Oh, shit, Hinata--Hanabi, I think it's for you."

----

**Wow. Um. Five months. **

**Approximately four-ish chapters left plus a possible epilogue. **

**SUCCESS.**

**Ciao,  
****MissLe**


	32. Sisters

_Just remember that it's not all what you think it is._

_Itachi_

_--_

_Unsteadily, she reached for the phone and began dialling the familiar number and raised her shaky hand to her ear. After several dial tones, it was finally picked up._

"_Hello?" A groggy voice answered low and rumbling._

"_Gaara__?"_

"_Oh, shit, Hinata--Hanabi, I think it's for you."_

**Chapter 32**

"What is going on?" Hinata spluttered into the phone and clutched at it tighter. "_Gaara_?"

"Er, I'll...uh, I'll just hand over the phone to Hanabi." Gaara said quickly.

There was the ruffling of sheets heard in the background before a low moan was heard. Hinata presumed it was her sister from the annoyed and agonized tone that only Hanabi could ever reach. Several grumblings and a shriek of surprise later, Hanabi finally picked up the phone and murmured nervously, "H-hello?"

"Hanabi, _what_ is going on?" Hinata hissed angrily. "Where are you two?"

"Uh...hold on a second." Through the obvious fact that Hanabi's hand was covering the phone, Hinata could still hear the muffled hissing of her younger sister's voice, "_Get out of the bed, Gaara!"_

_Out of..._

Hinata was fairly sure that her brain just imploded.

"S-sorry." Hanabi apologized breathlessly, "I, uh...so what did you want to talk to me about?"

"You...Gaara..." Hinata finally just slumped down into her seat and murmured tiredly, "Oh, Hanabi."

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the line as Hanabi hissed into the phone, "Don't you _dare_. Don't you dare act disappointed. Isn't this what you wanted? You wanted me to get back with Gaara, didn't you?"

"Hanabi—"

"Is nothing good enough? Jesus Christ, you sound just like father. Nothing is ever up your fucking expectations of what's '_good,'_ of what's '_fair_,' is it?" She was seething now. Hinata could imagine her storming back and forth in front of the bed all wrapped up in the blankets she had dragged off the bed to keep some semblance of modesty.

"No, that's not what—"

"Because I can't take it anymore!" Hanabi had now burst into tears over the phone and her words were so thick with them they were becoming nearly unintelligible. "I have to be perfect for the _public_, I have to be _perfect_ for father, and now I have to be _perfect for you_?" There was a pause as Hanabi emitted a choked sob. "At least Gaara doesn't need me to be." She continued in a whispered voice, "At least Gaara's forgiven me."

"Yeah, he does a lot of that lately, doesn't he?" Hinata murmured and leaned back into the chair more comfortably as she cradled the phone closer to her ear.

"He didn't even ask questions when I came over. He just...let me in." She was whispering now so quietly on the other line the Hinata had to strain to listen.

"Why'd you go over in the first place?" All of Hinata's earlier disbelief and initial anger had faded and made way into concern and curiosity. Hanabi _never_ cried, and to hear her do so now made Hinata's heart wring in anguish and guilt.

"I..I don't know. I just needed to get away, and Gaara was the only person I could think of. I was a little drunk too." Hanabi admitted.

"You mean—you—Gaara—together—drunk—" Hinata spluttered and clutched at the arm rest. "_Gaara took advantage of you while you were drunk_?"

"Of course not!" Hanabi snapped back. "Do you really think Gaara would stoop that low?"

"Well—no, but you—in bed—and—he—"

"He let me stay with him." Hanabi mumbled. "I asked him if I could stay over for the night and he said yes. He offered me the bed and I said no...so we shared it." Hanabi probably heard the sharp intake of breath on Hinata's behalf and quickly snapped, "We slept together, but we didn't _sleep_ together. We both were fully clothed."

Hinata chuckled at this after recovering from the momentary shock. How many times had she done the same with Sasuke?

"Why did you phone, Hinata?" Hanabi's voice took a tired turn as she said this.

The sudden question momentarily surprised Hinata before she answered quietly, "I...I just wanted to talk with you. It's been a while since we've actually just talked."

Hanabi broke into sudden tears again before managing to choke out, "I miss you. I miss you so much." Her sobs died into hiccups as she said, "It's s-so _hard_. I _hate_ dealing w-with all these people. I h-hate that Gaara's the o-only one who w-would talk to me. K-Kiba too, but..." At the sound of Kiba's name being spoken, Hanabi went into another sobbing fit.

"What happened?" Hinata asked, panic seeping into her voice. She couldn't bear for her sister and best friend to both be heartbroken.

"He _dumped_ me."

Hinata incredulously asked, "_Why_?"

"H-he said that...it wasn't going t-to work out between us. He s-said it wasn't fair to h-him that I was stringing al-along Gaara and him. He told me he loved me, but only as a sis-sis...sister." The hiccups returned with a nearly incoherent vengeance.

"What'd you expect, that he just went along with it his entire life?" Hinata said gently. "You can't expect that much from him."

"N-no...but I...I..._I miss him too._"

Hinata felt her heart tug painfully for her sister. So much stress at such a young age...

"He won't talk to you?"

"I...I don't know." Hanabi admitted. "I can't bring my-myself to phone him...or answer his c-calls."

"Hanabi," Hinata sighed. "You have to phone him.

"_No_." She snapped stubbornly. "No I can't. _He_ broke up with _me_."

"Please," Hinata whispered. "Do it at least for me." Do it so neither of you suffer. Do it so this accumulating pain is lessened, even just a little.

There was a long silence before Hanabi finally asked, "Where are you phoning from?"

Opening her mouth to answer, Hinata felt cold fear and panic grip her heart. Looking up at the camera blinking innocently above her, Hinata gripped the phone with white knuckles and breathed out with a panic filled edge, "I'm sorry, Hanabi. I'm so sorry. I can't talk right now. I have to go fix something." With that, she flung the phone away from her (and its cradle) and bolted from the room.

She ran until she reached the main foyer. Glancing around at the many surrounding doors, she found one that looked familiar and jerked it open.

Kakashi sat in the centre of the room crouched over a desk doing what looked like paper work that rivalled even that of Gaara's old ones. Lazily, he glanced up and adjusted his top hat. "Ah, Ms. Hyuuga. Do what do I owe the pleasure?"

"The tapes. The tapes for the phones. I...I need it. You can't air it." Hinata's eyes were wide with panic as she slammed the door shut behind her.

At this Kakashi raised a silver eyebrow. "Indeed...and why might that be?"

"Because...it's personal! Because this could destroy someone very close to me's life!" She knew her argument was weak, but hopefully her faith in the human race's compassion was stronger.

"Well, that seems exactly the type of stuff that would be gold for this reality show, wouldn't it?" His head turned back to his paperwork, dismissing her more effectively than Hinata was sure words could've.

With wide and horrified eyes, Hinata backed slowly out of the room, closing the door shut behind her quietly. This...could not be happening. It was one thing to have herself publicly humiliated on national television...but her _sister_?

Unacceptable.

She found herself wandering, lost in thought and self loathing around the mansion. There was no way she could persuade Kakashi to do otherwise. He was too conniving and manipulated, and Hinata was too spineless and easily manipulated to object. She felt like she was back at home, helpless to other people's whims and too frightened to protest.

Turning around the corner, Hinata didn't even realize she was standing in front of the giant mural of the world until her hand brushed the corner of Japan that protruded slightly as the door handle. _Sasuke_...

Sasuke could do something.

Straightening, she jerked the handle down and barrelled through the opening doorway, stumbling slightly as she took several steps into the room. He was lying flat on his bed, eyes staring vacantly up at the ceiling. Another pang, one much too similar to the one she had felt while on the phone with Hanabi, reverberated through her heart and chest.

He turned his head to the side, his eyebrows rising slightly. "Hinata? It hasn't even been an hour, I said I needed—"

"Please!" Hinata knelt down on the floor next to his bed and snatched his hand. "_Please_. I...I need your help."

Sasuke's eyebrows knit together as he sat up properly, his questioning voice filled with quiet concern. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Please," The tears she wanted to spill from her foolishness were gulped back as she clutched his hand tighter. "The tapes for the phone...I need one of them gotten rid of. Removed. _Destroyed_."

His eyes narrowed at this. "Do you know what you're asking from me? I signed a contract with Kakashi saying I wouldn't interfere with this sort of stuff, no matter what."

"I...I can't..." Hinata choked out words, trying to find the right ones. "I'll do anything!"

"Anything?" He pulled her up so she was standing, then jerked her back down to sit beside him on the bed. "That's also a lot to say, 'anything' gives an awful lot of leeway as to what I could do to you..."

Hinata's eyes widened before she nodded her head slowly. Anything. Anything for Hanabi. "O-okay."

Sasuke's face took on a surprised look. "You didn't actually think I...what's so bad that you'll do _anything_ for?"

"Hanabi." She murmured. "I...I can't let the world know about her private life. I can't destroy that for her. It could destroy _her_."

"You know, your sister's really lucky to have you." His voice softened as he ran a hand through her long hair, tugging lightly at the knots before repeating the process. "I wish..."

Before Hinata could ask what he wished for, a medley of beeping sounded through the relatively quiet room. Stuffing his hand into his pocket, Sasuke took out his cell phone and pressed the talk button.

"What?"

There was silence on his behalf as he listened to the other speaker, occasionally throwing in a "Mhm" and a "Yeah" before finally ending with a particularly colourful curse.

"C'mon. I've gotta go meet in the main foyer." He pulled her up from the bed and began his long strides out of his door.

"How'd you get reception in—"

"Come _on_." He repeated urgently and disappeared around the corner.

She followed him with an awkward jog until the two appeared in the foyer facing an angry Ino and a crowd of camera men. Clutched in the skinny blonde's hands were some ridiculously heavy looking bags, and surrounding her were another ridiculous amount of bags.

"Sasuke!" Ino barked and set down a bag to place her hand on her hip.

"Yes?" He asked smoothly, his eyebrows scrunching together after glancing at her bags. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes. Uh, no. Sorta?" She sighed and put down her other bag to cross her arms. "I'm leaving."

"What?" Hinata gasped and pushed past Sasuke to stumble over to Ino. "_Why_?"

"Oh, Hinata." Ino sighed and wrapped her arms around her, the sad tone in her voice making her body against Hinata's seem almost heavier. "I'm so sorry. About a lot of things. But you know why I'm leaving. I can't stay here anymore." She whispered the last bit softly.

Hinata returned the hug ferociously. "I know."

Ino turned back to Sasuke, a scowl on her face. "You better not hurt her! Because when you do, you're gonna regret it in more ways than one."

A reluctant smile crossed his lips as he replied. "I know." Snapping back to the matter at hand, he frowned. "Why are you leaving?"

"Um..."

"_Sasuke_, baby!"

Everyone turned to the intruding figure, eyes widening, jaws dropping, and voices nonexistent. Strutting up through the foyer, blond hair still ridiculously handsome in its messiness and blue eyes twinkling mischievously, the intruder draped an arm around Ino's small shoulders and asked, "How are you?"

"Naruto?" Both Hinata and Sasuke blurted out in surprise.

"The one and only." He grinned back and ruffled Hinata's hair. "You too, Hinata, how've you been?"

"_Naruto_." Sasuke's voice was dropping into dangerously low octaves as he growled. "What're you doing here?"

Blue eyes blinked before losing some bravado and giving way to a sad smile. "It's good seeing you again too."

"Seriously, Naruto." Hinata reached up and clutched his elbow. "Why are you here?"

"I'm being a gentleman and picking up my girl, of course." His grin returned as he placed a sloppy kiss on Ino's slowly reddening forehead.

"_He's_ the one you were talking about?" Hinata turned to Ino incredulously and pointed almost accusingly at her ex-husband's chest. "_He's_ Mr. Right?"

"I know you guys have a history...and I'm so sorry, but..." She turned to Naruto and smacked his arm away. "As much of an idiot he is, I do really like him."

"I...I'm not mad at you, Ino." She turned to Naruto and asked quietly, "So, how many girls _did_ you sleep with while we were married?"

Hurt rolled across Naruto's chiselled face as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I...I _never_ cheated on you. _Ever_. I couldn't do that to you...I met Ino a week before you came to visit me."

"I know." Hinata grinned. "I was kidding. You'd never do something like that."

"That was mean." He pouted and ruffled her hair once more.

"_Enough_." Sasuke hissed. "Both of you, get out of my house. _Now_."

Ino sighed and nodded. "Bye, Sasuke." She picked up her bags again and trotted over to plant a kiss on Sasuke's stiff cheek. "I hope to see you again."

"Same sentiments here too." Hinata murmured and did the same against Naruto's cheek and gave him a hug. "See you around?"

"Of course." He grinned and patted her back. "But you better let go now. Those two look about ready to kill." He nodded his head over to Sasuke who was grinding his teeth and clenching his fists and Ino who had gone stalk straight and had her perfectly plucked eyebrows narrowed.

Quickly, she disentangled herself and gave waved him goodbye before turning to Ino and giving her a rib crushing hug. "I'll miss you. But I'm glad you did this...you guys are both people I want happy."

"You sure it's not because you don't want me to steal your man from you?" Ino chuckled at Hinata's flushed face and patted her head. "You know I'm kidding, right?"

"Of course." Sort of.

Ino grasped her hands between hers and gave a smile. "We'll see each other, okay? We will."

Smiling back Hinata nodded and stepped back, letting chauffeurs scramble around to grab the bags. She watched as Ino shoved one of the bags she was carrying into Naruto's chest before glancing around and giving Naruto a light peck on the corner of his mouth. The little gesture combined with Naruto's bright and ridiculously happy face sent an explosion of delight and joy through Hinata. If they were happy, so was she.

"Bye, Hinata!" Naruto waved as they crossed the large foyer, bags in hand. "Don't let him boss you around too much!" He turned to a chauffeur next to him and said, "Put it in my car. I'll take her home."

As the door closed behind Naruto, Ino, and the cameramen, Sasuke murmured to Hinata, "So. You saw him while we were on the intermission."

"It's not what you think," Hinata frowned and faced him. "I had to patch things up with him. With a lot of people."

"Right." He turned away from her.

Hinata sighed. "So, now what?"

"Now we continued as we—"

"What just happened?" Sakura's voice filtered down the staircase as she descended slowly, her eyes wary and eyebrows scrunched together.

"Ino's gone." Hinata sighed again, knowing that it was only fair for Sakura to know. "With Naruto."

Sakura promptly crouched down and burst into tears.

--

**Okay, I'm guessing...two to three more chapters plus an epilogue.**

**GREAT SUCCESS.**


	33. Unveiling

_Just remember that it's not all what you think it is._

_Itachi_

* * *

_"What just happened?" Sakura's voice filtered down the staircase as she descended slowly, her eyes wary and eyebrows scrunched together._

_"Ino's gone." Hinata sighed again, knowing that it was only fair for Sakura to know. "With Naruto."_

_Sakura promptly crouched down and burst into tears._

* * *

Cameras immediately zoomed in on Sakura who had her face buried in one hand as she tried desperately waving the cameramen away from her with the other. Tears streaked down her cheeks and created smears and unattractive blotches on her usually blemish free visage. It stunned Hinata to see Sakura, her tormenter and the bitch who had haunted most of her life, so _vulnerable_. Through her haze of confusion all Hinata could do was think that this was an act. This whole thing screamed dramatics and attention, something Sakura had depended on throughout her life like her own lifeblood, always needing the centre spot light.

Turning her head and snorting softly, Hinata did what she could to avoid crossing her arms and just walking away from the situation. Obviously Sakura's fit of attention craving was created with the secondary goal of pissing her off not just with what she probably hoped to be Sasuke's (non-existent) sympathy but the fact she was able to prove time and time again that she could get her way with a bat of an eyelash and a casual flick of her finger.

Nope. Not going to work this time, Hinata resolutely decided and merely stood there stalk still as Sasuke huffed quietly and reluctantly walked over to the seemingly distraught woman.

"Are…you okay?" He asked her in a voice Hinata didn't find exactly sincere and reached out a hand warily towards her shoulder.

Obviously Sakura didn't either as to the surprise Hinata was unable to hide, the former model jerked her arm back viciously and choked out a noise that was somewhere between a desperate laugh and a strangled sob as she hissed, "Don't. Just fucking don't." She stood up unsteadily and murmured in a voice so quiet and unsteady that it hid itself beneath her sobs, a voice Hinata could barely hear, "This just always happens doesn't it? Always _fucking_ happens."

Hinata watched as she stood tall and rose above everyone on top of those stairs and was reminded why she had always been the queen bee throughout Hinata's life as she glared at everyone beneath her; not just because she was beautiful, or manipulative, but she was _powerful_. She could command attention with a simple narrowing of perfectly shaped and shaded eyes and people wouldn't even see it coming.

The tears now confused Hinata as they sprung up again in Sakura's enviously emerald eyes as she glared at Hinata with so much rage it seemed palpable in the air around everyone, an entity unto itself as it stalked around people's legs snapping at the light nerves on the tips of hair follicles. Her gaze shifted to Sasuke who in his mirrored confusion had stepped back next to Hinata and she murmured, "Don't you dare. I know what you're trying to do, and _it__won__'__t__work_. I won't let it. I won't let you."

Hinata more felt than saw Sasuke stiffen with those words as his body went rigid next to hers, only the subtle scrunching of his eyebrows gave away what Hinata interpreted as a pained look. Now beyond confused and a little bit frustrated, Hinata snapped her gaze back and forth between the two before Sakura spun on her heel and dashed down the upper hallway to what Hinata remembered was the direction to her room. The last flash of her face that Hinata saw was one she recognized fairly well and had become familiar with it in the past year, that look that expresses that acute loneliness that could only really be described to feel like attempting to hold your breath for as long as possible so your heart wouldn't just shatter everywhere.

_What the hell was happening?_

Without thinking about it really Hinata bounded up those steps, not even caring if she was being followed by a stampede of cameramen all eager to catch a slice of the action. Doors flew past until she was suddenly in front of number seventeen, her hand already grasping the brass handle. Too late, several thoughts forced their way into her rational conscious as she swung that door open.

_What the hell are you thinking?_

_Sakura is going to kick your ass. Remember that time she knocked that one girl from Sound High out with one punch to the face?_

_Lies remember, all lies! She doesn't mean those crocodile tears! She's doing this for attention!_

_No she's not; that loneliness she exposed, you can't fake that. You really can't._

_Who __cares! __She__'__s _Sakura Haruno_; __she __spent __years __making yo__u __feel __like __that. __And __she__'__s __going __to __kick __your __ass._

_Seventeen's a stupid number to have as your favourite, you bossy bitch._

She really wasn't sure what she was going to find once she entered that room, but it certainly was not Sakura lounging on the leather couch coolly as if expecting Hinata's uninvited arrival, her ruined makeup still left untouched and eerie as her face never even betrayed the sobs and dramatics of before.

As the cameramen rushed in and blocked her escape, Hinata realised that perhaps this was a bad, _bad_ idea and shifted awkwardly on her feet before croaking out, "Are…are you okay?"

"You know, I never hated you at first, not even back in high school." Sakura glanced down at her perfect nail beds and ignored the directed question completely. "You were annoying. So goody goody all the time, but really, I never even really disliked you, you just happened to get on my nerves."

Gee, thanks, bitch.

"But you know what _really_ pissed me off?" She stood up as she said this and stalked over to Hinata who suddenly knew what it was like to know a bomb was waiting to explode right in front of you and there was nothing you could do about it. Sakura stopped a foot away from Hinata, her arm carefully placed on her hip as she tilted her head and laughed quietly. "You always played that poor little rich girl card. Poor me. Poor Hinata, she has that loyal band of friends and family who stood by her as she got teased by the big bad Sakura, poor Hinata never once had anyone else hate her before in her life, poor Hinata, she always gets the guy doesn't she?"

Hinata's jaw went slack as Sakura continued, her voice rising pitch by pitch as tears sprung back full force. "No, I didn't start to hate you until after high school when I realized just how much you seemed to take for granted. Oh, your father is '_disappointed__'_ in you. That's a shame, because you know, none of _us_ had that ever happen to us either." She spat sarcastically and approached even closer. "_But__you__had__a__sister_! You had that sister who worships the ground you walk on and you could fall back on through it all, you had a cousin who could take over your fucking business because your pathetic ass couldn't handle the responsibilities."

She lowered her voice and hissed, "You aren't the only heiress in this house."

And she suddenly remembered. Sakura was the heiress to her father's entire fashion industry. It was shy she was the supermodel she was. It was why Sakura had strived and somehow managed to receive unfailingly perfect grades throughout all of high school. A sense of inferiority and shame spread through Hinata. Sakura had the exact same issues to deal with, but she had won, she had won because she hadn't broken down like Hinata had.

Until now.

"So, first you take everyone's sympathy." Sakura continued, "Okay, I can deal with that. You have everyone's sympathy, but I have everyone's will. Let's face it; I could really have cared less at the time." She paused and stepped back slightly, letting Hinata breathe for one grateful moment before continuing her tirade, "But then you had to take Naruto."

At this Hinata was the one to pause as she examined her enemy since the tender age of twelve years old. Naruto? She heard the story from the man himself. Sakura didn't want him. Didn't need him.

"Don't look at me like that." Sakura snarled, "I may not have loved Naruto in the way you did, but he was one of my closest friends. He made me feel like I was the most wonderful person in this world." She looked wistfully at Hinata, and somehow she understood. You didn't have to love Naruto like that to fall in love with him. He just drew everyone in like the brightest fire. "He broke it off with me, those little flings, as soon as you guys started up. It didn't really hit me until the night he proposed to you he came over and told me he wasn't going to see me again. Ever. For any reason. He couldn't do that to you."

As much as Hinata's heart went out to Sakura for this (losing Naruto at that time…she couldn't imagine what it would have been like), her heart swelled for her faithful ex-husband, something that was somewhat smothered by the sense of disorientation she was experiencing at this entire surreal experience. Was Sakura…?

"And now, _now __you__'__ve __taken __from __me __my __best __friend_." Sakura shrieked and would have probably slapped her had she not first seen the lamp on the table next to Hinata and hurled it off the stand, startling the terrified woman. "You've taken them both! You've had a life, had people stay with you." She trailed off in a sob and scrunched her shoulders in on herself.

She was. The impossible thought dawned on Hinata that yes, Sakura Haruno, was _jealous_ of her. Jealous of her life and friends. Sympathy swelled in her chest as she reached over and lightly placed a hand on one shaking shoulder. Sakura was a bitch, but maybe she wasn't to everyone, and somehow, Hinata could somewhat understand and even accept why Sakura hated her. Without Neji, Tenten, Hanabi, Gaara, Naruto, _so__many__others_, she didn't know what her life would be right now. If she would have one.

Her hand was flown off as Sakura sprang back and clutched her fists into tight balls, breaths heaving out in her rage. "Don't you _dare_ fucking touch me. You have no right to even _pretend_ to feel for me." She straightened up, regal neck lengthening as she stared Hinata down. "Because I don't need it. You took my best friends, but you will not take my husband." She laughed suddenly. "You _can__'__t_. I won't allow it."

With that she walked out of the room, brushing past a stunned Hinata and the cameramen. Distantly she could hear Kakashi congratulating Sakura, declaring the blow up reality TV gold.

The profound words Sakura muttered back were mimicked in Hinata's thoughts as the supermodel spat back, "Oh, fuck you."

* * *

"…Hinata?"

Slowly, Hinata uncurled herself from the ball she had rolled herself into in the middle of her bed and peered around her shoulder to the doorway that had opened a crack. She closed her eyes again and turned back around, ignoring the askance of an invitation into her room. It wouldn't matter if she said yes or no anyways.

Proving her point, Sasuke opened the door fully to step in and closed it quietly behind him. The ceasing of his padded steps and the weight that pulled her closer down on the mattress next to a warm body indicated he had sat down next to her, keeping his hands to himself for once.

"Kakashi showed me the tapes." He said to the night table next to them as an explanation. When she didn't reply he continued, "Don't feel bad for her. Whatever you do, just…don't."

"…I stole Naruto from her." She mumbled into his thigh and turned her face further away. "I think I would feel better if he had been her boyfriend or something, but he was her _best__friend_." She turned around and looked up at Sasuke, pressing her cheek against his leg further she bit her lip. "If…if someone told me I was never going to see Gaara, or Kiba, or Tenten again in the same way…I think I would hate them more than anyone too. I don`t think I would be able to forgive them ever either."

"No." He pulled her up by her shoulders and brought him close to his chest. "No." He repeated and pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes in a pained expression. "Please, don't let Sakura make you give in. What she lost…that was her fault. She is the reason she has lost her closest friends, not you." He nudged his nose against the side of hers encouragingly. "You care about everyone else more than you care about yourself. That is why you've had this…this perfect family and friends. She's never had that because there is no one she cares about more than herself." He sighed. "Just…don't take blame for her mistakes."

She stared at him, really stared at him. She was in a constant state of confusion about this man, even when she thought she had figured him out, he would do something to throw her off again. She mulled over this for a moment as he stared back steadily, sometimes he made her want to cry and scream, but it was times like this when he talked her through her self-esteem and exposed the part of him that wasn't multi-billionaire bachelor of the decade that she could completely understand why she had blurted out that she loved him back in Whistler.

Her lack of response seemed to unnerve him as he closed his eyes in defeat, unable to continue and fumble for words that would dissuade her guilt. It filled her heart with gratefulness, for his consideration, for everyone she had and loved… and for him. Slowly, she tilted her head and gently slid her lips against his, moving against them softly, oh so tenderly, thanking him for just _being_ there.

He didn't deepen the kiss, he didn't even move his hands from the gentle grip on her shoulders. He merely followed her pace and poured back his reciprocated affection in the soothing and warm strokes of his lips and the thumb rubbing against her arm.

* * *

Dinner was an awkward affair to say the least.

Perhaps not that way to the cameramen, but the underlying tension of what had occurred earlier lingered like a stench. Sakura didn't even so much as look in the direction of Hinata as she played along and bantered with Sasuke as if nothing had happened before, something Sasuke painfully returned with little choice.

Was this what it would be like in the future? Hinata stared dully at her plate, wondering. Would she attend business lunches with him as the wife and be expected to laugh at the jokes he obviously loathed to make but was required to as part of his position?

Would she be able to?

The scraping of a chair against marble tile floor had Hinata glancing up at Sasuke who now stood before the two of them, a small smile on his chiselled face. "Sakura, Hinata." He gave a respective nod to the each of them. "It's been close to six months and we are down to you two. You've both shown me that you're both beautiful women who are equally deserving of being loved, but unfortunately," He laughed hollowly and gave an apologetic shrug. "I can only marry one of you."

Kakashi suddenly swept into view sporting a horribly clichéd striped top, beret and even a perfectly waxed and curled moustache carrying a silver platter in one hand. Hinata couldn't help but choke slightly on her water as she sputtered up in ill suppressed laughter at the sight, who the hell thought of this costume idea? Kakashi himself, no doubt.

"So for the next week, the final week," Sasuke sighed and grimaced at the sight of his executive producer in the ridiculous costume. "We'll be in the French Riviera." He pulled the top off the silver platter and produced for the two tickets for first class; one one-way, the other, a return ticket.

* * *

**Haha oh my god I had to basically reread through this entire story to remember what was happening before writing this. I got to a point where I just hated it so much, I mean, I started this when I was fourteen ferchrissake, there are just so many mistakes and immature structures and themes that I wanted to just tear it all down. But you guys, you guys and your reviews _mean __so __much __to __me_. Like, I still had people reviewing to keep going after a two year hiatus from this!**

**I love you.**

**Seriously.**

**I won't promise frequent updates. But I promise _I __will __finish __this_. Even if it does take me another four years. **

**(I swear to blog one day when the idea doesn't sound so painfully daunting, I am rewriting this entire thing.)**

**Love, love, love, love, so much love,**

**MissLe**


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